In my experience very few people will listen to an argument after the person presenting the argument has called them stupid. When you call somebody a moron, then i expect that you’ve drastically reduced the chances that this person will listen to you.
In other words, the action of calling someone a moron takes convincing the target off of the table, if you haven’t done that already.
My guess is that, when you call you’re in a debate and you call your opponent stupid, it’s mainly for the benefit of the people who already agree with you; the main purpose is probably designating “which side you’re on” rather than convincing anyone who disagrees. This reminds me of the line of retreat idea—it’s easier for people to change their minds if they can do so without calling themselves stupid.
In my experience very few people will listen to an argument after the person presenting the argument has called them stupid. When you call somebody a moron, then i expect that you’ve drastically reduced the chances that this person will listen to you.
In other words, the action of calling someone a moron takes convincing the target off of the table, if you haven’t done that already.
My guess is that, when you call you’re in a debate and you call your opponent stupid, it’s mainly for the benefit of the people who already agree with you; the main purpose is probably designating “which side you’re on” rather than convincing anyone who disagrees. This reminds me of the line of retreat idea—it’s easier for people to change their minds if they can do so without calling themselves stupid.
I wonder what effects being imaginary has on how you deal with the simulation hypothesis.