Seth's Blog : Logic is a special case

Logic is a special case

We agree on so many things. Productive arguments are scarce, because they depend on shared constructs of reality. And arguments are a luxury, because they allow people to engage around ideas without resorting to external forces or authorities for resolution.

An argument might be flawed because it relies on facts that aren’t in evidence. If you’re asserting that X happened and it didn’t, the rest of your argument is hard to deliver.

And the argument might be flawed because even if X is true, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter because in the reality we are in, the logic of this argument doesn’t hold up, X or no X.

Or the argument could be weak, because the words are non-specific, and change in meaning as you go.

Feelings are real, and they can be shared. By all means, let us know. Feelings aren’t arguments. They are different. Arguments have evidence, specificity and logic that enable us to see how things are and to make them better.

Better to share our feelings than to pretend we have an argument to make.