I say again, you seem to have ruled out any possibility of strong evidence being presented for the thesis. What’s an observation that you would consider strong evidence, if actual suicide is weak? And if there isn’t one, then why should I assume that you’re arguing in good faith?
You perceive this as an argument, but I have no interest in arguing about anything in particular, except to point out that technical inaccuracy about the meaning of “wanting” in your original comment (which you should judge on object level, based on what you conclude from reading the linked posts, if you choose to do so, not from how you perceive the context of me linking to those posts). That is all I meant to do, but arguing about what I meant to do is similarly beside the point, so I’m bowing out.
The point is, I can conceive of no stronger evidence that a person wants to die than to observe that they committed suicide. Mocking the strongest evidence available for being weak is nonsensical.
(I don’t think that a single action, however dramatic or final, is the strongest available evidence about goals. This comment is then a second out-of-context technical remark that shouldn’t be taken as a relevant argument in the preceding context.)
Mocking the strongest evidence available for being weak is nonsensical.
I say again, you seem to have ruled out any possibility of strong evidence being presented for the thesis. What’s an observation that you would consider strong evidence, if actual suicide is weak? And if there isn’t one, then why should I assume that you’re arguing in good faith?
You perceive this as an argument, but I have no interest in arguing about anything in particular, except to point out that technical inaccuracy about the meaning of “wanting” in your original comment (which you should judge on object level, based on what you conclude from reading the linked posts, if you choose to do so, not from how you perceive the context of me linking to those posts). That is all I meant to do, but arguing about what I meant to do is similarly beside the point, so I’m bowing out.
The point is, I can conceive of no stronger evidence that a person wants to die than to observe that they committed suicide. Mocking the strongest evidence available for being weak is nonsensical.
(I don’t think that a single action, however dramatic or final, is the strongest available evidence about goals. This comment is then a second out-of-context technical remark that shouldn’t be taken as a relevant argument in the preceding context.)
Please see Katja’s post Estimation is the best we have. The strongest available evidence may well be weak, which doesn’t mean that you don’t go with the strongest available evidence, but going with it also doesn’t make it strong.