These are understandable concerns… but I make no claim of being unbiased in content. (Did I actually say this anywhere? If so, I need to revise that.)
The ultimate resolution of a debate should not be partisan (i.e. adhering to any particular party’s viewpoint just because that party holds it), but that doesn’t mean the initial claims have to be neutral. The point of the exercise is to make claims one is prepared to defend—partisan or not—and then invite others to attack them.
Either my mind ends up being changed, the minds of the attackers are changed, some combination, or some kind of impasse is reached. Regardless of which scenario ensues, I should think that we all learn something about the process and how to avoid impasse.
Also, just because something happens to align with a particular party’s views does not make it wrong. I would argue (and have done so frequently) that the Democrats are right far more often than the Republicans; the latter are often egregiously wrong, in extremely harmful ways.
Reality is not defined by averaging all viewpoints.
I don’t know if Haidt even realizes his arguments are basically a cover for neocon propaganda; he comes across as honestly believing he is a liberal. His arguments, however, are clearly irrational (which is something we can’t “agree to disagree” about; if you can counter my explanations of how they are irrational, then go for it.) -- and have certainly been used by conservatives as a put-down for liberalism. In any case, I don’t dispute your claim that Haidt’s expressed political views seem to be primarily liberal—for now. I would like, however, to see his answers (or anyone’s answers) to the charges I have raised in on those pages.
I think we’ve looped back to the whole ‘politics is the mind killer’ issue again. From what I’ve read of your writing on issuepedia you strike me as firmly in ‘mind killer’ territory on the subject of politics and I’m neither inclined to read more of your writing or to engage in discussion with you because I expect it to be unproductive. If you honestly want to turn your site into a mechanism for political truth seeking then in my opinion you need to adjust your mindset and writing style. While I don’t object to political discussion here as a matter of principle—I think some discussions here have demonstrated the ability to discuss politics rationally—I would object to political discussion that takes the tone and approach you do on your site.
These are understandable concerns… but I make no claim of being unbiased in content. (Did I actually say this anywhere? If so, I need to revise that.)
The ultimate resolution of a debate should not be partisan (i.e. adhering to any particular party’s viewpoint just because that party holds it), but that doesn’t mean the initial claims have to be neutral. The point of the exercise is to make claims one is prepared to defend—partisan or not—and then invite others to attack them.
Either my mind ends up being changed, the minds of the attackers are changed, some combination, or some kind of impasse is reached. Regardless of which scenario ensues, I should think that we all learn something about the process and how to avoid impasse.
Also, just because something happens to align with a particular party’s views does not make it wrong. I would argue (and have done so frequently) that the Democrats are right far more often than the Republicans; the latter are often egregiously wrong, in extremely harmful ways.
Reality is not defined by averaging all viewpoints.
I don’t know if Haidt even realizes his arguments are basically a cover for neocon propaganda; he comes across as honestly believing he is a liberal. His arguments, however, are clearly irrational (which is something we can’t “agree to disagree” about; if you can counter my explanations of how they are irrational, then go for it.) -- and have certainly been used by conservatives as a put-down for liberalism. In any case, I don’t dispute your claim that Haidt’s expressed political views seem to be primarily liberal—for now. I would like, however, to see his answers (or anyone’s answers) to the charges I have raised in on those pages.
I think we’ve looped back to the whole ‘politics is the mind killer’ issue again. From what I’ve read of your writing on issuepedia you strike me as firmly in ‘mind killer’ territory on the subject of politics and I’m neither inclined to read more of your writing or to engage in discussion with you because I expect it to be unproductive. If you honestly want to turn your site into a mechanism for political truth seeking then in my opinion you need to adjust your mindset and writing style. While I don’t object to political discussion here as a matter of principle—I think some discussions here have demonstrated the ability to discuss politics rationally—I would object to political discussion that takes the tone and approach you do on your site.