ask lord of the mark

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DAVOUT


As you cannot verify if I really believe what I am saying, my declaration that I am sincere does not give more value to my argument. And I don’t see what kind of argument, particularly in a discussion between posters, could be modified by a declared or supposed sincerity.

You asked if sincerity aids discussion. I agree that ASSERTIONS of sincerity dont do anything. I think someone who is GENUINELY sincere will post in a different fashion than someone who is not. And no, sincerity adds nothing to the truth value of a given statement, logically speaking, seen in isolation. A logical debate could be pursued purely as a game, and often is. But a discussion is not the same as a debate - its a mutual search for truth - this involves such things as judgements over what subtopics are or not worth debating.

[DAVOUT]

Originally posted by lord of the mark


But a discussion is not the same as a debate - its a mutual search for truth - this involves such things as judgements over what subtopics are or not worth debating.

You establish an interesting difference between discussion and debate ... which would be worth another debate (or discussion since the ordinary definitions of these two words are extremely closed).