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author | Christian Grothoff <christian@grothoff.org> | 2020-10-11 13:29:45 +0200 |
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committer | Christian Grothoff <christian@grothoff.org> | 2020-10-11 13:29:45 +0200 |
commit | 1ae0306a3cf2ea27f60b2d205789994d260c2cce (patch) | |
tree | 53117a55c27601e92172ea82f1d8cd11d355c06c /talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/devils-advocate.html | |
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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/devils-advocate.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/devils-advocate.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dfd5482 --- /dev/null +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/devils-advocate.html @@ -0,0 +1,152 @@ +<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> +<title>Devil's Advocate +- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> + <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/devils-advocate.translist" --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> +<h2>Why the Devil's Advocate Doesn't Help Reach the Truth</h2> + +<p>by Richard Stallman</p> + +<p>Playing the devil's advocate means challenging a position by saying +what a hypothetical adversary would say. I encounter this frequently +in interviews and Q&A sessions, and many people believe that this +is a good way to put a controversial position to the test. What it +really does is put the controversial position at a disadvantage.</p> + +<p>There is an indirect way of playing the devil's advocate: to say, +“If I defended your position, how should I respond if someone said +XYZ?” This is less unfriendly than the ordinary devil's advocate, +who would simply say XYZ, but has the same effect.</p> + +<p>Cunning adversaries try intentionally to obstruct thoughtful +consideration of a position they oppose. My cunning and unscrupulous +adversary (the “devil,” let us say) would not want my views +to get a proper hearing, especially if the devil thinks they are valid +and people might agree with them. The best way to prevent that is to +block me from making them understood.</p> + +<p>The devil achieves that by twisting my words: presenting a misleading +context in which my words appear to mean something other than what I +intended. If this succeeds, it will confuse the audience and distract +them from the issue, in effect preventing it from being properly raised. +If this makes my words appear to mean something that the audience will +condemn, and which nobody present is really in favor of, I may need a +long explanation to get back on track. There may not be time for +this, or the audience might lose focus.</p> + +<p>If I succeed in overcoming the first misunderstanding, the cunning +adversary would spring another, and another. If the adversary is +better at verbal fencing than I am, I might never get my point across. +If the stress makes me heated and I have trouble speaking clearly, the +adversary will count that a success. It matters little to the devil +whether it is my position that is vanquished or only me personally, as +long as the audience rejects my views.</p> + +<p>If you are not a real “devil,” only playing the devil's +advocate, you would not really wish to prevent me from presenting the +intended point. But you may prevent it without intending to. Playing +the devil's advocate means you act hostile even though you don't feel +hostility. Once you decide to say what an adversary would say, you +are likely to do the job as well as you can, by imitating the toughest +adversary you can imagine: the cunning and unscrupulous one, whose +goal is to oppose rather than to get at the truth.</p> + +<p>If you know what such adversaries have said to me, or if you are +skilled at imagining them, you would say the same things they do. +These statements could distract the audience and block consideration +of the issue, just as if a real adversary had said them. But if you +are not really my adversary, that result may not be what you really +want. If your goal was to shed light on the issue, your approach will +have backfired.</p> + +<p>What I say on many issues goes against the establishment position, and +I don't expect people to agree with me without considering the issue +thoroughly, including the counterarguments. Indeed, it would be +almost impossible for anyone to avoid considering the establishment's +arguments, since everyone knows them by heart. To judge what is right +requires getting to the bottom of the issue.</p> + +<p>The kind of questions that help get to the bottom of an issue are not +those that a cunning and unscrupulous adversary would pose, but rather +those of a thoughtful person who has not made up per mind (<a href="#ft1">1</a>). They +are questions that prise apart the aspects of the issue, so one can see +the various possible positions on each aspect, what they imply, and +how they relate. Very different from playing devil's advocate.</p> + +<p>Thus, instead of trying to play the devil's advocate, I suggest +that you adopt the goal of “probing the issues.” And if +you are asked how you would answer if someone else asked a hostile +question, perhaps this essay is a good response.</p> + +<hr class="thin" /> +<h3 style="font-size:1.2em">Footnote</h3> +<ol> + <li id="ft1">The author uses the gender-neutral third person singular +pronouns “person,” “per,” and +“pers.”</li> +</ol> + +</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> +<div id="footer"> +<div class="unprintable"> + +<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to +<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. +There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> +the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent +to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, + replace it with the translation of these two: + + We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality + translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. + Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard + to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> + <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> + + <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of + our web pages, see <a + href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations + README</a>. --> +Please see the <a +href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations +README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations +of this article.</p> +</div> + +<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to + files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should + be under CC BY-ND 4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this + without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. + Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the + document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the + document was modified, or published. + + If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too. + Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying + years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable + year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including + being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system). + + There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers + Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. --> + +<p>Copyright © 2012, 2017 Richard Stallman</p> + +<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" +href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative +Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p> + +<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" --> + +<p class="unprintable">Updated: +<!-- timestamp start --> +$Date: 2017/11/07 21:09:49 $ +<!-- timestamp end --> +</p> +</div> +</div> +</body> +</html> |