I don’t know of a term for the thing you’re describing, but the inverse thing—where someone who thinks “Anecdotes with conclusions should not be allowed” ends up saying “Perhaps we could institute a norm that posting anecdotes without making conclusions from them is okay” is sometimes called “indirection” or “hedging.” (Or, in some circles, “being polite.”)
They are, of course, related: my knowledge of the existence of indirection in the world makes it more likely that I will interpret “Perhaps we could institute a norm that posting anecdotes without making conclusions from them is okay” as an expression of the thought “Anecdotes with conclusions should not be allowed” (as well as a wide range of other thoughts).
Perhaps the inverse of indirection should be called “dereferencing”?
original comment:
how its read:
I find this transition very curious and see it often. Is there a term for this kind of reactive twist of reasoning?
I don’t know of a term for the thing you’re describing, but the inverse thing—where someone who thinks “Anecdotes with conclusions should not be allowed” ends up saying “Perhaps we could institute a norm that posting anecdotes without making conclusions from them is okay” is sometimes called “indirection” or “hedging.” (Or, in some circles, “being polite.”)
They are, of course, related: my knowledge of the existence of indirection in the world makes it more likely that I will interpret “Perhaps we could institute a norm that posting anecdotes without making conclusions from them is okay” as an expression of the thought “Anecdotes with conclusions should not be allowed” (as well as a wide range of other thoughts).
Perhaps the inverse of indirection should be called “dereferencing”?