I acknowledge the possibility of having disagreements on the object level, I’m just trying to put forward the idea that sometimes higher-level disagreements are actually valuable, and that a community that only has object-level discussions would be overrun by bullshitters.
Sure. Goodness knows we don’t need to redebate creationism every time. But softening your phrasing isn’t sneering. It’s acting to make your words less upsetting and more pleasant to hear. That is very nearly the opposite of sneering. (It also, in cases where you insert qualifiers, has the valuable effect of making you look more reasonable should you happen to be wrong.)
Sorry, maybe we are miscommunicating; I don’t think the act of softening your speech itself is sneering. Rather, I think you can appear to speak fairly politely and still be sneering. Subtle sneering, which is common on sites like LessWrong where unsubtle sneering is taboo.
As for inserting qualifiers: he who excuses himself accuses himself.
I acknowledge the possibility of having disagreements on the object level, I’m just trying to put forward the idea that sometimes higher-level disagreements are actually valuable, and that a community that only has object-level discussions would be overrun by bullshitters.
Sure. Goodness knows we don’t need to redebate creationism every time. But softening your phrasing isn’t sneering. It’s acting to make your words less upsetting and more pleasant to hear. That is very nearly the opposite of sneering. (It also, in cases where you insert qualifiers, has the valuable effect of making you look more reasonable should you happen to be wrong.)
Sorry, maybe we are miscommunicating; I don’t think the act of softening your speech itself is sneering. Rather, I think you can appear to speak fairly politely and still be sneering. Subtle sneering, which is common on sites like LessWrong where unsubtle sneering is taboo.
As for inserting qualifiers: he who excuses himself accuses himself.