Philosophy, et cetera 2008-05-11

The End(s) of Discussion

Life (especially for bloggers) affords limitless opportunities to engage in disputes. Far, far too many to be able to pursue them all. So I guess we just pursue those few discussions which strike us as particularly interesting and enjoyable. Can we say any more than this? Are there distinctive features of a good or worthwhile discussion? Can you identify any rules of thumb you follow in deciding (i) whether to leave a comment, and (ii) whether to continue or quit an ongoing exchange?No doubt there are many possible ends an online conversation might serve. For example:(1) Collaborative inquiry, in pursuit of knowledge and understanding.(2) Asymmetric teaching, or the imparting of knowledge and understanding to others.(3) Non-epistemic goals, e.g. creating/reinforcing social ties, "winning" an intellectual competition, etc.Let's just consider epistemic goals. Discussions between epistemic peers (i.e. #1) tend to be the ...

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