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I'll also add that argument by pedantism is a sin of any good-faith debate. It represents an attempt to divert attention from the main topic, and instead to pla
by esyir 5y ago
I'll also add that argument by pedantism is a sin of any good-faith debate. It represents an attempt to divert attention from the main topic, and instead to playing definition games.
I thus generally view an attempt to refute an argument with some pedantic gotcha as a bad-faith responsse.
- bmn__ 5y agoNot all pedantic arguments about the definition of words are bad faith. Sometimes, the original argument genuinely employs a confusion of definition, this could make the argument void, see section "Equivocation" under <http://enwp.org/List_of_fallacies#Informal_fallacies http://enwp.org/List_of_fallacies#Informal_fallacies>. This confusion happens both unintentionally and intentionally. I would like to propose to not treat the pedantry counter as a sin. Instead think of it as a weak signal: the counter does not rank high on the hierarchy of disagreement. <https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/how-to-disagree-well-7-of-the-best-and-worst-ways-to-argue https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/how-to-disagree-well-7-of-t...> If a strong counter could be made, we would use that one instead of the pedantry counter.
- unishark 5y agoI'm not even sure who is being criticized here. I think it's just an issue of tone. Bluntly telling someone they're wrong, when their statement is arguably correct, will generally trigger an argument over who is correct.
- afarrell 5y agoTo call a distinction pedantic is to say it lacks importance to you. You are seeing a clash of values, not a bad-faith argument.