But rationality shouldn’t be part of the solution because it is largely mistaken about cause and effect. Rationalitty is an effect of our societal and cultural evolution, shaped by our genetically predisposition as primates living in groups. In this sense rationality is a meme that is part of a larger effect and therefore can’t be part of a reductionist explanation of itself.
However, these claims are false, so you have to make a different argument.
I’ve seen this sort of substitution-argument a few times recently, so I’ll take this opportunity to point out that arguments have contexts, and if it seems that an argument does not contain all the information necessary to support its conclusions (because directly substituting in other words produces falsehood), this is because words have meanings, steps are elided, and there are things true and false in the world. This does not invalidate those arguments! These elisions are in fact necessary to prevent each argument from being a re-derivation of human society from mathematical axioms. Arguers should try to be sensitive to the way in which the context of an argument may or may not change how that argument applies to other subjects (A simple example: “You should not enter that tunnel because your truck is taller than the ceiling’s clearance” is a good argument only if the truck in question is actually taller than the ceiling’s clearance.). This especially applies when arguments are not meant to be formal, or in fact when they are not intended to be arguments.
These substitution arguments are quite a shortcut. The perpetrator doesn’t actually have to construct something that supports a specific point; instead, they can take an argument they disagree with, swap some words around, leave out any words that are inconvenient, post it, and if the result doesn’t make sense, the perpetrator wins!
Making a valid argument about why the substitution argument doesn’t make sense requires more effort than creating the substitution argument, so if we regard discussions here as a war of attrition, the perpetrator wins even if you create a well-reasoned reply to him.
Substitution arguments are garbage. I wish I knew a clean way to get rid of them. Thanks for identifying them as a thing to be confronted.
Cool, glad I’m not just imagining things! I think that sometimes this sort of argument can be valuable (“That person also has a subjective experience of divine inspiration, but came to a different conclusion”, frex), but I’ve become more suspicious of them recently—especially when I’m tempted to use one myself.
if it seems that an argument does not contain all the information necessary to support its conclusions (because directly substituting in other words produces falsehood), this is because words have meanings, steps are elided, and there are things true and false in the world. This does not invalidate those arguments!
Thing is, this is a general response to virtually any criticism whatsoever. And it’s often true! But it’s not always a terribly useful response. Sometimes it’s better to make explicit that bit of context, or that elided step.
Moreover it’s also a good thing to remember about the other guy’s argument next time you think his conclusions obviously do not follow from his (explicitly stated) premises—that is, next time you see what looks to you to be an invalid argument, it may not be even if strictly on a formal level it is, precisely because you are not necessarily seeing everything the other guy is seeing.
So, it’s not just about substitutions. It’s a general point.
Thing is, this is a general response to virtually any criticism whatsoever. And it’s often true! But it’s not always a terribly useful response. Sometimes it’s better to make explicit that bit of context, or that elided step.
True! This observation does not absolve us of our eternal vigilance.
Moreover it’s also a good thing to remember about the other guy’s argument next time you think his conclusions obviously do not follow from his (explicitly stated) premises—that is, next time you see what looks to you to be an invalid argument, it may not be even if strictly on a formal level it is, precisely because you are not necessarily seeing everything the other guy is seeing.
So, it’s not just about substitutions. It’s a general point.
But rationality shouldn’t be part of the solution because it is largely mistaken about cause and effect. Rationalitty is an effect of our societal and cultural evolution, shaped by our genetically predisposition as primates living in groups. In this sense rationality is a meme that is part of a larger effect and therefore can’t be part of a reductionist explanation of itself.
However, these claims are false, so you have to make a different argument.
I’ve seen this sort of substitution-argument a few times recently, so I’ll take this opportunity to point out that arguments have contexts, and if it seems that an argument does not contain all the information necessary to support its conclusions (because directly substituting in other words produces falsehood), this is because words have meanings, steps are elided, and there are things true and false in the world. This does not invalidate those arguments! These elisions are in fact necessary to prevent each argument from being a re-derivation of human society from mathematical axioms. Arguers should try to be sensitive to the way in which the context of an argument may or may not change how that argument applies to other subjects (A simple example: “You should not enter that tunnel because your truck is taller than the ceiling’s clearance” is a good argument only if the truck in question is actually taller than the ceiling’s clearance.). This especially applies when arguments are not meant to be formal, or in fact when they are not intended to be arguments.
These substitution arguments are quite a shortcut. The perpetrator doesn’t actually have to construct something that supports a specific point; instead, they can take an argument they disagree with, swap some words around, leave out any words that are inconvenient, post it, and if the result doesn’t make sense, the perpetrator wins!
Making a valid argument about why the substitution argument doesn’t make sense requires more effort than creating the substitution argument, so if we regard discussions here as a war of attrition, the perpetrator wins even if you create a well-reasoned reply to him.
Substitution arguments are garbage. I wish I knew a clean way to get rid of them. Thanks for identifying them as a thing to be confronted.
Cool, glad I’m not just imagining things! I think that sometimes this sort of argument can be valuable (“That person also has a subjective experience of divine inspiration, but came to a different conclusion”, frex), but I’ve become more suspicious of them recently—especially when I’m tempted to use one myself.
Thing is, this is a general response to virtually any criticism whatsoever. And it’s often true! But it’s not always a terribly useful response. Sometimes it’s better to make explicit that bit of context, or that elided step.
Moreover it’s also a good thing to remember about the other guy’s argument next time you think his conclusions obviously do not follow from his (explicitly stated) premises—that is, next time you see what looks to you to be an invalid argument, it may not be even if strictly on a formal level it is, precisely because you are not necessarily seeing everything the other guy is seeing.
So, it’s not just about substitutions. It’s a general point.
True! This observation does not absolve us of our eternal vigilance.
Emphatically agreed.