02-15-2018, 06:32 PM
xise, I think you and I have similar approaches--we can recognize a valid moral argument without perceiving it as a personal attack. I was basically vegan growing up, so I don't feel that vegetarianism is alien or threatening me.
Now on other issues I feel I have a harder time maintaining that attitude, and it usually is because I feel particularly vulnerable. Discussions of sexism come to mind, because the position I take has a direct impact on the dignity of the other party. It feels like you can't experiment with ideas as easily because there is so much judgment going on. I mean I think I do it better than many and I still get denounced regularly, even though we actually agree on substantive policy or philosophy matters.
This may sound insulting to some, but I don't think people examine the grounds for their beliefs very often. So when somebody is curious about those grounds, it's taken as skepticism of the entire position rather than curiosity of how a person constructed that belief. In many cases I think a lot of people come to their beliefs in a non-intellectual manner, so this is understandable, but you'd think they'd welcome the opportunity to understand their own position better!
So yeah, still working on those yellow and orange issues over here.
Now on other issues I feel I have a harder time maintaining that attitude, and it usually is because I feel particularly vulnerable. Discussions of sexism come to mind, because the position I take has a direct impact on the dignity of the other party. It feels like you can't experiment with ideas as easily because there is so much judgment going on. I mean I think I do it better than many and I still get denounced regularly, even though we actually agree on substantive policy or philosophy matters.
This may sound insulting to some, but I don't think people examine the grounds for their beliefs very often. So when somebody is curious about those grounds, it's taken as skepticism of the entire position rather than curiosity of how a person constructed that belief. In many cases I think a lot of people come to their beliefs in a non-intellectual manner, so this is understandable, but you'd think they'd welcome the opportunity to understand their own position better!
So yeah, still working on those yellow and orange issues over here.