The post is sensible for responding to most forms of incompetent/sloppy communication (a benign example is small talk). It’s bad advice when there is intent and potential for eventual clear communication.
This needs a distinction between understanding and truth. Understanding what is being said is a separate activity from assigning credence to a claim. The distinction breaks down when the speaker doesn’t know what they are talking about, and won’t be able to get to know it during the conversation. But if it’s possible, it’s useful to first learn what the proposed construction is, even if you have no idea how relevant it is (for example, how well it describes/models the world), or if you are certain that it’s not relevant. When you can agree on what exactly is being referenced, while ignoring its relevance or truth, that is a valuable milestone in moving the discussion forward.
Discussing the truth of claims is often superfluous. Once you know what is being asserted, you either verify (evaluate) it on your own, or you would require an argument, which is again a construction that can just be explained in the same way without any appeals to its relevance or truth. At no point do you need to know which states of mind make communication of the construction (or the argument) likely. That is, if the object of the discussion is whatever is actually being discussed, not the speaker’s state of mind.
The post is sensible for responding to most forms of incompetent/sloppy communication (a benign example is small talk). It’s bad advice when there is intent and potential for eventual clear communication.
This needs a distinction between understanding and truth. Understanding what is being said is a separate activity from assigning credence to a claim. The distinction breaks down when the speaker doesn’t know what they are talking about, and won’t be able to get to know it during the conversation. But if it’s possible, it’s useful to first learn what the proposed construction is, even if you have no idea how relevant it is (for example, how well it describes/models the world), or if you are certain that it’s not relevant. When you can agree on what exactly is being referenced, while ignoring its relevance or truth, that is a valuable milestone in moving the discussion forward.
Discussing the truth of claims is often superfluous. Once you know what is being asserted, you either verify (evaluate) it on your own, or you would require an argument, which is again a construction that can just be explained in the same way without any appeals to its relevance or truth. At no point do you need to know which states of mind make communication of the construction (or the argument) likely. That is, if the object of the discussion is whatever is actually being discussed, not the speaker’s state of mind.