Tuesday, June 09, 2009

A code of conduct for effective rational discussion

John Wilkins sets out "a code of conduct for effective rational discussion," a list of principles for debate and discussion that aims at approaching truth rather than winning a rhetorical battle, at the new location of his Evolving Thoughts blog.

The list of proposed principles is:
  1. The Fallibility Principle
  2. The Truth-Seeking Principle
  3. The Clarity Principle
  4. The Burden of Proof Principle
  5. The Principle of Charity
  6. The Relevance Principle
  7. The Acceptability Principle
  8. The Sufficiency Principle
  9. The Rebuttal Principle
  10. The Resolution Principle
  11. The Suspension of Judgement Principle
  12. The Reconsideration Principle
  13. Fleck’s Addendum
Check out Evolving Thoughts for discussion of each of these principles.
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4 comments:

  1. John S. WilkinsJune 9, 2009 at 5:34 PM

    Technically I stole these principles from a book via another blog via a commenter on my blog. But I added witty paragraphs.

    Let's just say it's a barb aimed at a few recent critics...

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  2. KtisophilosJune 9, 2009 at 8:45 PM

    Not too bad actually.

    “Scorn also to depress thy competitor by any dishonest or unworthy method; strive to raise thyself above him only by excelling him; so shall thy contest for superiority be crowned with honour, if not with success.”

    Attributed to Akhenaton, Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, 14th C BC

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  3. Hume's GhostJune 9, 2009 at 9:19 PM

    Good list.

    I'm also a fan of Sidney Hook's Decalogue for Democratic Discourse, although I think listening to AM radio for too long has left me more dismissive and vitriolic than I was when I first started blogging.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ReedJune 11, 2009 at 11:10 PM

    I've been a fan of "Rules for Rationals" as found in the appendix of the book The Psychology of the Psychic (Prometheus) by David Marks and the late Richard Kammann. Sadly the version that was online is gone.

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