I’m not sure what we can learn from trying to declare signaling “overall good” or “overall bad”? That sounds to me similar to the example in this SSC post:
A question: are you pro-Israel or pro-Palestine? Take a second, actually think about it.
Some people probably answered pro-Israel. Other people probably answered pro-Palestine. Other people probably said they were neutral because it’s a complicated issue with good points on both sides.
Probably very few people answered: Huh? What?
This question doesn’t fall into any of the three Philosophy 101 forms of argument. It’s not a question of fact. It’s not a question of particular moral truths. It’s not even a question of policy. There are closely related policies, like whether Palestine should be granted independence. But if I support a very specific two-state solution where the border is drawn upon the somethingth parallel, does that make me pro-Israel or pro-Palestine? At exactly which parallel of border does the solution under consideration switch from pro-Israeli to pro-Palestinian? Do you think the crowd of people shouting and waving signs saying “SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE” have an answer to that question?
But it’s even worse, because this question covers much more than just the borders of an independent Palestinian state. Was Israel justified by responding to Hamas’ rocket fire by bombing Gaza, even with the near-certainty of collateral damage? Was Israel justified in building a wall across the Palestinian territories to protect itself from potential terrorists, even though it severely curtails Palestinian freedom of movement? Do Palestinians have a “right of return” to territories taken in the 1948 war? Who should control the Temple Mount?
These are four very different questions which one would think each deserve independent consideration.
Similarly, in some situations you’ll want to signal and in some others maybe not, but trying to get an overall judgment of “signaling good or bad” doesn’t seem particularly informative.
I’m not sure what we can learn from trying to declare signaling “overall good” or “overall bad”? That sounds to me similar to the example in this SSC post:
Similarly, in some situations you’ll want to signal and in some others maybe not, but trying to get an overall judgment of “signaling good or bad” doesn’t seem particularly informative.