Logical Rudeness

Peter Suber, Philosophy Department, Earlham College

1. Overture

2. Preliminary Description of Rudeness

3. What Sort of Delict is Logical Rudeness?

4. Must Some Theories Be Rude?

5. What is Debate?

1. Overture

Consider the following exchanges:

In each of these cases something has gone wrong with the process of debate. In his self-insulating replies Grobian has raised the ire of more open and more dogged inquirers. We are put off, perhaps indignant or angry. What's more, we feel justified in taking offense. We may concede for the sake of argument that Grobian's positions are strong candidates for truth on their merits, and that he has only good faith to motivate his use and defense of them. Yet we feel that strength on the merits and good faith do not justify his responses. We wish he would, like us, concede the strength and good faith of his opponents, if only for the sake of argument. But must he do this to be called rational, or merely to be called polite?

Does our sense of justified indignation derive from principles that we are willing to defend in the open? Or are we merely offended by seeing "our side" lose an exchange? Has Grobian committed any sort of fallacy that might be generalized and generally proscribed? Or does his offense lie simply in hurting our feelings? Or in his maneuvering to escape criticism or disagreement? Can we complain if a theory can evade refutation? Is that a sign or truth, or merely a source of friction? May we say that a theory that authorizes its proponents to use such arguments in self-defense is therefore false? Inadequately defended? Undebatable? If Grobian has violated norms of debate, might it be because debate is one game and he has chosen to play another?

I will call Grobian's offense "logical rudeness". Specifying its nature will not be as difficult as explaining why it is objectionable and discovering whether it is unavoidable. I deliberately use the alogical term "rudeness" to avoid prejudicing the question of its logical status. Logical rudeness may not be fallacious. But at least it is offensive. "Rudeness" captures this sense of impropriety. The word derives from the same root as "erudite", which literally means "not rude" in the original sense, not rudimentary or rough-hewn. The question of this essay is whether erudition can always be achieved, or rudeness avoided, by honest, logical, good faith inquirers for truth. The informality of the term should not hide the fact that the topic is the ethics of argument. In the final section I ask what our disdain for rudeness reveals about the activities we cherish under the names of reasoned inquiry and debate.

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 716