Post by
bond46 on Feb 12, 2013 11:26pm
The rules of discourse
The Cardinal rules of public discourse are not insults, are not personal attacks or offensive language. The rules of discourse are made up of two basic principles: they are called premiss and conclusion. A premiss can be a statement of fact or statement of opinion. The other is the conclusion, a statement which is based on the assumption, or premiss. If the conclusion is false, then the premiss must be necessarily false. So to invalidate a conclusion all one has to do is prove that the premiss is false, or is not based on facts or reliable information and it's just a conjecture. And if one makes assumptions which are not based on facts, we must take his conclusion with a grain of salt or we don't believe what one says. Threre is no point of hurling insults at the other for drawing false conclusions. All we have to do is prove that unless one presents evidence or facts the conclusion is just an unsubstantiated belief. And that is the end of public discourse. Some time we may joke for the irony of unreliable beliefs or conclusions that some people draw, but that is the end of the story. This approach keeps some sense of civility in public discourse and we don't tear each other apart. However, when we use rhetoric, a common practice in political debates we play with emotions, imagery, or strong language in order to create impressions. But serious discourse requires that the rules of discourse are followed so we can get somewhere. Imagery and impressions may score us some points but they don't shed light in our ignorance and does not enlighten anybody.
Comment by
investorjay on Feb 12, 2013 11:28pm
NFK drilling news pending....should be out in few days...
Comment by
summer22 on Feb 13, 2013 6:44am
Well said bond46. Summer22>