Watching the debate between Stefan Molyneux and Peter Joseph (of Zeitgeist, the Movie) and its clear that theyve both made a major error in the debate process. To resolve a debate, or even to gain the upper hand in a debate requires one to either: (a) disprove the rationality, consistency, or efficacy of the opposing position or (b) to establish common ground and demonstrate that ones own arguments satisfy the common ground requirement better than those of the opponent. In this argument, (a) is impossible because the interpretation of the given facts is radically different based on the given persons paradigm; that is, because the central disagreements are axiomatic, no one can win the argument so long as as this approach is taken. If one or both of the participants (Molyneux and Joseph) were to focus on branching out from established common ground, a resolution of the debate would be possible, but because both of the participants are so dependent on their respective axioms to support their respective positions, its inherently impossible for either of them to win this debate.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 20:16:48 +0000