The Dying Art of Disagreement

Links

• New York Times - Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/opinion/dying-art-of-disagreement.html
• Lowy Institute - Bret Stephens lecture: https://youtu.be/7ZQq-QA8118?t=15m43s

What Stands Out

• To disagree well you must first understand well
  • You have to read deeply, listen carefully and watch closely.

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• Empathy and Respect for Adversary
  • You need to grant your adversary moral respect and intellectual benefit of doubt.
  • Sympathy for their motives and participate empathically with the line of reasoning.

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• Allow for the possibility of persusasion.

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• On masking opinions from challenge
  • I recognise as this therefore I think can be a dangerous precedent.

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• On the purpose of opinion
  • The purpose of opinion isn’t to depart from facts but to use them as a bridge to a larger idea called truth.