So, I do think “Old_Gold”’s objection is on-point and yours is a deflection; it is a private good to be quiet about heresies and a public disservice, because it allows a wrong belief to continue unchallenged.
The question of what is the best way for the public to interact with unpalatable truths is a hard one (should base rates of criminality be a part of judicial decision-making? How about base rates of technical ability when it comes to discrimination cases?), but one that’s made pointlessly difficult if those unpalatable truths aren’t accepted to begin with. (A useful conversation on how to minimize damage done by AIDS, for example, is hard to have with people who disbelieve that gay men are more likely to have AIDS than other populations.)
So, I do think “Old_Gold”’s objection is on-point and yours is a deflection; it is a private good to be quiet about heresies and a public disservice, because it allows a wrong belief to continue unchallenged.
The question of what is the best way for the public to interact with unpalatable truths is a hard one (should base rates of criminality be a part of judicial decision-making? How about base rates of technical ability when it comes to discrimination cases?), but one that’s made pointlessly difficult if those unpalatable truths aren’t accepted to begin with. (A useful conversation on how to minimize damage done by AIDS, for example, is hard to have with people who disbelieve that gay men are more likely to have AIDS than other populations.)
What I have written already addresses your second paragraph.