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Arguments: Everybody Chill Out - by Alexander Douglas

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I’m not into either analytic or (European) continental philosophy, but I don’t understand this obsession with arguments in philosophy. When did we decide that philosophy was all about arguments? When did it stop being about trying to find interesting, original, profound, beautiful, luminous ideas? If an idea is deep and astonishing enough to transform how you see the world, who cares if there’s a valid argument for it? People rarely form their beliefs on the basis of arguments; they concoct argu… All I was trying to say was that it is obviously important in philosophy to come up with good ideas, not simply to argue for them. And I don’t believe that arguing is usually the way we come up with good ideas. Argument might be an effective way of deciding which ideas to believe in. But adjudication is not creation. Safety inspections are important for deciding whether a building is sound. But safety inspections on their own don’t erect the building to be inspected. Hiring a fastidious accoun

A couple of days ago I posted a little note, which blew up my notifications: All I was trying to say was that it is obviously important in philosophy to come up with good ideas, not simply to argue for them. And I don’t believe that arguing is usually the way we come up with good ideas. Argument might be an effective way of deciding which ideas to believe in. But adjudication is not creation. Safety inspections are important for deciding whether a building is sound. But safety inspections on their own don’t erect the building to be inspected. Hiring a fastidious accountant doesn’t, on its…

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