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ElliElephant OP t1_jb0ohp8 wrote

Reply to comment by CommercialReal6268 in Wittgenstein’s Revenge (this genuinely changed the way I look at the world) by ElliElephant

Surely it could only improve the quality of public discourse to collectively admit that having a debate doesn’t mean one side is right and the other wrong

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CommercialReal6268 t1_jb0rma5 wrote

Thats not an admition i'd be happy making across the board. Certainly not in the context of a public debate.

Some courses of action will result in a society that is more consistent with our values (what ever they may be), and some will result in a society that is less consistent with out values.

The values are not matters of fact but can be agreed. The effect of various policies can be matters of fact in the context of your society and assuming trustworthy institutions can curate the 'facts'.

Obviously none of this holds up to philosphical rigour but in pragmatic terms we need to defend the concept of a fact as an atom of truth to enable democratic debate.

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