“Of course an argument cannot become wrong just because a stupid person says it but we can expect that on average people with a bad track record in arguing will continue to argue poorly and people with good track records will argue well. In that sense we can set priors for someone’s arguments being right before hearing them.”—PK
Does using someone’s arguing track record violate the principle of charity, though? It’s a matter of pragmatism to keep score in day to day life, it allows us to filter the noise and avoid information overload. However, if the goal is philosophical rigor and stringency, I think it’s necessary to listen to each premise and argument.
“Of course an argument cannot become wrong just because a stupid person says it but we can expect that on average people with a bad track record in arguing will continue to argue poorly and people with good track records will argue well. In that sense we can set priors for someone’s arguments being right before hearing them.”—PK
Does using someone’s arguing track record violate the principle of charity, though? It’s a matter of pragmatism to keep score in day to day life, it allows us to filter the noise and avoid information overload. However, if the goal is philosophical rigor and stringency, I think it’s necessary to listen to each premise and argument.