3 ms·
I'm beginning to hate this term. It's recent popularity has a tendency to turn everything into a reductionist argument. It shuts down discussion about the bigge
by ng12 7y ago
I'm beginning to hate this term. It's recent popularity has a tendency to turn everything into a reductionist argument. It shuts down discussion about the bigger picture or broad ideals in favor of a very narrow band of discourse.
- Jach 7y agoJoin the club! One useful phrase to keep in mind is "Chinese Robber Fallacy"[0] (edit: and for more than just spotting questionable uses of "whataboutism"[1]). It's "where you use a generic problem to attack a specific person or group, even though other groups have the problem just as much (or even more so)." Of course if you engage in this sort of "fallacy fallacy!" argument style, you rapidly get far from the discussion on the actual topic. The best move is probably just not to play. [0] https://rationalconspiracy.com/2015/03/08/the-chinese-robber-fallacy/ https://rationalconspiracy.com/2015/03/08/the-chinese-robber... [1] https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/09/16/cardiologists-and-chinese-robbers/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/09/16/cardiologists-and-chin...
- faissaloo 7y agoNo, engaging in whataboutism is what shuts down discussion, highlighting it merely serves to mitigate the effects.