"You are wrong."
"You are wrong."
"You are wrong."
"This is bullshit!"
Confirmation bias
That’s why I tell people who are into political theory that we need to read books by important and popular ideological opponents to our own beliefs so that we can have a better understanding of things and come to better informed conclusions. My book reading club does not seem interested in that though, which is sad.
I think where that gets frustrating is when the book’s argument starts off a ridiculous premise/accepted statement, and then any time spent reading after that is wasted.
“As we all know, climate change is a conspiracy. Let’s spend 80 pages taking a look at how this belief in it has negatively affected so many people’s lives.”
This is kinda the underlying problem with modern political discourse. One side has gone so far off the deep end that there's genuinely nothing of value that they are adding to the conversation. "The Jewish Space Lasers are manipulating our weather" just isn't a position that is worth entertaining.
That being said, it's still worth reading the literature of the enemy, even if it's just to know what kinds of ridiculous statements they're holding as truth. If you don't know how your opponent's worldview was constructed, what hope do you have of deconstructing it?
I really like doing the opposite of this comic, i.e. reading a book titled "you are wrong", and then I'm like "I knew it!". Even if I don't change my mind, I like finding angles I hadn't considered, because as you allude to, it can help to argue one's ideological stance.
I think different book clubs serve different purposes, and it's unfortunate that yours isn't scratching your itch. I wonder if they're craving something different to you; I'm thinking of how, when I have experienced a piece of media that has resonated with me, I go through a period where I want to immerse myself in that media, and I'm desperate to discuss it with my friends. I wonder if that's what your current book club are seeking
My book reading club does not seem interested in that though, which is sad.
This, right here, is a sign of stupidity.
If one downplays or denigrates the importance of understanding opponents' arguments or positions, that is a person incapable of critical thought. They're not capable of informed decisions, and their opinions on the subjects or opponents in question are worthless.
They aren’t against reading these things on your own time, that would be stupid as fuck. That’s just not really why we started the club, as it’s a leftist theory reading club. That’s the argument I’ve been given anyway. But whatever I don’t care, I can read on my own time anyway as well.
Me writing a claim that I just kinda guessed was true and then searching for a source to back it up for my bibliography
Where his short tho
What do you think he's "researching?"
Thought you had x-ray vision until I realized the typo
Lol I think I was falling asleep when I typed that. I need to remember not to comment when I'm literally in bed trying to fall asleep or eventually I'll do a covfefe.
