Discussion and debate can only work if all parties agree to talk in GOOD FAITH.
To me, good faith generally means that each party commits to:
- The presumption of a shared, objective reality
- Stating one’s position (and motivation) honestly and clearly; and sincerely trying to appreciate the other’s position
- Not deliberately deploying lies, fallacies, or gish-gallop tactics to manipulate the other
In other words, good faith discussion is a cooperative activity, not an adversarial one.
The loudest people who “demand debate”do not meet the standard of Good Faith. It’s a waste of your time to debate these people; you’ll never change their mind, but you will give them delicious content as they “own” you live on camera.
Although right-wing bad-faith debaters is almost a tradition at this point, I’ve also seen too many clips of progressives “owning” conservatives using dishonest, bad-faith tactics. This is not merely a right-wing problem.
#debate #propaganda #manipulation
