Refresh: Arguing for the Sake of Heaven – Why we need Curious Conversations
Today’s Refresh was originally posted in May 2021, and if anything is more relevant today than when it first appeared. I especially love the Jonathan Sacks insight that it is better to lose an argument, for when we do, we gain new knowledge, whereas when we win an argument, we simply have an established view reinforced. It’s a refreshing take. Roll on the losses! Arguing for the Sake of Heaven: Why we need Curious Conversations I wonder if you, like me, are finding the polarising conversations taking place in the public square shrill, tiresome and destructive. We have lost the art of...
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I wonder if you, like me, are finding the polarising conversations taking place in the public square shrill, tiresome and destructive. We have lost the art of disagreeing with one another politely or constructively, and have forgotten than ad hominem attacks (attacks directed against a person rather than the position they hold) have traditionally been seen to weaken an argument, not strengthen it. It genuinely is a pity, because there are so many important discussions that need to take place, and take place well. No matter how angrily we screech against our opponents, the truth is that there...
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