I think that I largely agree with this post. I think that it’s also a fairly non-trivial problem.
The strategy that makes the most sense to me now is that one should argue with people as if they meant what they said, even if you don’t currently believe that they do.
But not always—especially if you want to engage with them on the point of whether they are indeed acting in bad faith, and there comes a time when that becomes necessary.
I think pushing back against the norm that it’s wrong to ever assume bad faith is a good idea. I don’t think that people who do argue in bad faith do so completely independently—for two reasons—the first is simply that I’ve noticed it clusters into a few contexts, the second is that acting deceptively is inherently more risky than being honest, and so, it makes more sense to tread more well-trodden paths. More people aiding the same deception gives it the necessary weight.
It seems to cluster among things like morality (judgements about people’s behaviors), dating preferences (which are kind of similar), and reputation. There is kind of a paradox I’ve noticed in the way that people who tend to be kind of preachy about what constitutes good or bad behavior will also be the ones who argue that everyone is always acting in good faith (and thus chastise or scold people who want to assume bad faith sometimes).
People do behave altruistically, and they also have reasons to behave non-altruistically too, at times (whether or not it is actually a good idea for them personally). The whole range of possible intentions is native to the human psyche.
I think that I largely agree with this post. I think that it’s also a fairly non-trivial problem.
The strategy that makes the most sense to me now is that one should argue with people as if they meant what they said, even if you don’t currently believe that they do.
But not always—especially if you want to engage with them on the point of whether they are indeed acting in bad faith, and there comes a time when that becomes necessary.
I think pushing back against the norm that it’s wrong to ever assume bad faith is a good idea. I don’t think that people who do argue in bad faith do so completely independently—for two reasons—the first is simply that I’ve noticed it clusters into a few contexts, the second is that acting deceptively is inherently more risky than being honest, and so, it makes more sense to tread more well-trodden paths. More people aiding the same deception gives it the necessary weight.
It seems to cluster among things like morality (judgements about people’s behaviors), dating preferences (which are kind of similar), and reputation. There is kind of a paradox I’ve noticed in the way that people who tend to be kind of preachy about what constitutes good or bad behavior will also be the ones who argue that everyone is always acting in good faith (and thus chastise or scold people who want to assume bad faith sometimes).
People do behave altruistically, and they also have reasons to behave non-altruistically too, at times (whether or not it is actually a good idea for them personally). The whole range of possible intentions is native to the human psyche.