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Great article. Paul provides a useful illumination of the issue. The great medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas operated at level DH6, often with devastating ef
by gregfjohnson 19y ago
Great article. Paul provides a useful illumination of the issue. The great medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas operated at level DH6, often with devastating effect. He would formulate and state the argument he planned to refute with clarity, depth, accuracy, and precision. He often would make his opponent's case better than the opponent had done! I believe his secret was that he was humbly interested in the truth wherever it led. Given his lack of a pre-conceived agenda, he could take a proposition and explore its implications 20 plies deep, giving it the benefit of the doubt and making the best case for it at each step. Having fully plumbed an idea and 'grokked' it, then he could unwind the stack as it were, and state his conclusions in a powerfully convincing manner. Humility, detachment, an agenda-free willingness to listen and follow the truth where it leads, and strength in defending hard-won truth when found all seem to be good places to start.
- astine 19y agoAquinas wasn't quite so thorough in all his works. It's mostly the Summa Theologica which is so rigorous. I agree with the application however, for one to brook disagreement with another, one should usually understand the subject better than that person. This implies understanding your opponent's arguments better than your opponent. If don't understand your opponents arguments better than he, who are you to say that he is wrong in making them? (trivia about Aquinas: his handwriting was so bad, that there are only about 10 people or so in the world today that can read it.)
- mejohnsn 19y agoI am glad that people are thinking of Aquainas in this connection. In fact, I _still_ think his book on logical fallacies is one of the best. For example, he is the _only_ one to get the defintion of "amphigology" right. Unfortunately, when you look at the link where you can find it online at http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/dp3.html http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/dp3.html, you will see why so few people still read this book:(
- sixtorende 18y agoDo you find anything wrong in that online edition of the original Latin text?
- agentbleu 19y agoThis reminds me of Karl Popper's in his critique of Marx. Anyone have the quote?