People sometimes respond to moral arguments, and even just
moral premises or conclusions, with what are called “argument stoppers.” These
are, unsurprisingly, brief responses to try to stop the presentation or discussion of the argument or claim.
Argument stoppers interfere with the attempt to evaluate arguments using rational
methods like those in this book: they impede critical thinking and taking moral
issues seriously. They are bad and are contrary moral progress. Being aware of
them and knowing how to respond to them helps with moral progress.
Below is a list of some common
argument stoppers. We first discuss each stopper and explain why it is bad,
although this is often obvious. Our discussion often amounts to a modus tollens-patterned argument against
the stopper like this:
1. If that stopper is a good response to this issue (or claim or argument, etc.), then it’s a good response to other issues, such as ______.
2. But it is not a good response to those other issues, such as ____.
3. So it isn’t a good response to the initial issue.”
This argument against these stoppers shows not just that people
aren’t sometimes inconsistent and arbitrary in their use of stoppers, but that
stoppers-responses contrary to the rational evaluation of moral claims and
arguments.
Some
of these stoppers, however, do have a genuine point behind them: there is a
moral insight behind them. When this is so, we observe this, and observe where
this insight has gone wrong, and how this insight can be productively
redirected.
Here are some common argument stoppers (with some repetition
and a need for better organization!):
1. “That’s
just your opinion,” or “That’s a matter of opinion.”
2.
“I’m entitled to my opinion,” “I have the right
to my own opinion.”
3. “That’s
just your belief.”
4. “But
I feel this way…”
and “But, they feel that way.”
5. “This
isn’t wrong to me, or to us,” and “To them, it’s not wrong.”
6. “Most
people think this isn’t wrong; most people are OK with this.”
7. “This
is a tradition; this is what we do; our culture is OK with this.”
8. “We
like doing this…” or “I like doing this…”
9. “We
should be tolerant.”
10. “We need
to be open-minded.”
11. “We should
be respectful of others’ actions and beliefs.”
12. “Doing
this isn’t illegal,” or “Doing this is illegal.”
13. “We
shouldn’t judge others.”
14. “How would
you like it others judged you?”
15. “There are
bigger problems than this problem.”
16. “This
issue isn’t important.”
17. “Live and
let live.”
18. “There are
at least two sides to every story.”
19. “The
person giving this argument is a hypocrite.”
20. “How could
anyone think that?”
21. “Who’s to
say? Who’s to judge?”
22. “You’re
not perfect, so you shouldn’t judge.”
23. “Everything
is controversial.”
24. “There are
exceptions to every rule.”
25. “If you don’t like people doing that, then just don’t do it!’
26. “This
doesn’t affect me, so I have no business judging or getting involved.”
27. “This
doesn’t affect them, so they have no business judging.
28. ‘Is this wrong
or “wrong”’?
29. “I have a right
to do that.
30. “Let’s
agree to disagree.”
31. “But the
Bible says…”
32. “But God
says…”
33. “It is
what it is.”
34. “That view
(opinion, belief) is subjective”
35. “That’s
personal,” or “That’s a personal choice.”
36. “Nobody is
perfect.”
37. “LOL!”
38. “Who’s to
say what's right or wrong?”
39. “You need
to address your own problems before addressing anyone else’s.”
40. “If you
think this is a problem, then YOU should do something about it.”
41. “You'll
never be able to change peoples’ minds.”
42. “People
are going to think what they think, and do what they do.”
43. “Things have always been this way.”
44. “But where
do you draw the line?”
45. “Nobody
cares” or “Nobody is going to care, or do anything about this.”
46. The Bible
says..
47. God says… (Divine Command Theory)
48. Revisited:
“I feel this way…” and “They feel
that way.” (Subjectivism)
49. Revisited:
“This isn’t wrong to me, or to us,” and “To them, it’s not wrong.” (Cultural Relativism)
50. Revisited:
“Most people think this isn’t wrong; most people are OK with this.”
51. Revisited:
“This is a tradition; this is what we do; our culture is OK with this.”
Details forthcoming!
You can't prove that!
ReplyDelete"You have to be stupid to say that. Or, "The people who say that are stupid."
ReplyDelete"It's not right to tell someone that."
"What if everyone did that?"
"You are just saying that because you belong to group X."
"Don't believe a word that person says."
"You believe that because your parents taught you to believe that."
"We don't have any other option."
"If we follow what you are saying, then we will be on a slippery slope to a bad place."
"Yes, and no."
This is biased.
ReplyDelete