Reality is a team sport, to some people. They’re not actually arguing. Arguments have rules. What they’re doing is a stupid word game where their goal is to demonstrate ingroup loyalty.
I cannot overstate how these people believe in nothing else. They think that’s all you’re doing. They think that’s all there is.
Claims cannot be evaluated, in this worldview. In their minds that is not what claims are for. You simply accept or reject them based on interpersonal trust. People above you in The Hierarchy™ must be right and smart and handsome because they’re so rich and powerful. It is your role to figure out what must be real, to square those arbitrary ideas, because it is impossible for your betters to simply be wrong. That would require evaluating claims. So disagreement means saying they’re not trustworthy… and they don’t belong in that position… and you deserve to be there. Why should you be better than them? Where’s your sports car?
Please note - there is reasoning involved. They’re not incapable. They can extrapolate big ideas that would have to be true in order for their thing to be real. They just refuse to accept that the absence of those premises means their conclusion is nonsense.
We keep asking why they never change their opinions when their reasons are wrong. They wonder why we change our opinions when there’s so many reasons to choose from.
Reality is a team sport, to some people. They’re not actually arguing. Arguments have rules. What they’re doing is a stupid word game where their goal is to demonstrate ingroup loyalty.
I cannot overstate how these people believe in nothing else. They think that’s all you’re doing. They think that’s all there is.
Claims cannot be evaluated, in this worldview. In their minds that is not what claims are for. You simply accept or reject them based on interpersonal trust. People above you in The Hierarchy™ must be right and smart and handsome because they’re so rich and powerful. It is your role to figure out what must be real, to square those arbitrary ideas, because it is impossible for your betters to simply be wrong. That would require evaluating claims. So disagreement means saying they’re not trustworthy… and they don’t belong in that position… and you deserve to be there. Why should you be better than them? Where’s your sports car?
Please note - there is reasoning involved. They’re not incapable. They can extrapolate big ideas that would have to be true in order for their thing to be real. They just refuse to accept that the absence of those premises means their conclusion is nonsense.
We keep asking why they never change their opinions when their reasons are wrong. They wonder why we change our opinions when there’s so many reasons to choose from.