@John 6IX Breezy
This makes a lot of sense to me. We assume that when an accusation is being made, the accused person has something to lose from the situation. There may be punishment, a loss of reputation, etc. Therefore it would be unjust to accept the accusation without sufficient evidence. That's why it's courtroom procedure.
I suppose it's true that some people on these forums approach discussion in an accusatory manner, so that sort of mindset would be involved. Again, if the goal is to WIN something on the Internet, or punish an opponent, then these legal rules come into play.
The opposite extreme, I was thinking, would be in the arts -- the claims made in poetry, for example. These are offered without any attempt to persuade in a debate-style format. When Blake says his thing about the Doors of Perception, or Baudelaire assures us that nature is a temple, it would be crazy to treat this like a legal claim. These are provocations and lures, and the more they prompt us to investigate the more we benefit.
Not that claims we make on the Internet rise to the level of poetry, much.
Quote: in which an accusation is being made
This makes a lot of sense to me. We assume that when an accusation is being made, the accused person has something to lose from the situation. There may be punishment, a loss of reputation, etc. Therefore it would be unjust to accept the accusation without sufficient evidence. That's why it's courtroom procedure.
I suppose it's true that some people on these forums approach discussion in an accusatory manner, so that sort of mindset would be involved. Again, if the goal is to WIN something on the Internet, or punish an opponent, then these legal rules come into play.
The opposite extreme, I was thinking, would be in the arts -- the claims made in poetry, for example. These are offered without any attempt to persuade in a debate-style format. When Blake says his thing about the Doors of Perception, or Baudelaire assures us that nature is a temple, it would be crazy to treat this like a legal claim. These are provocations and lures, and the more they prompt us to investigate the more we benefit.
Not that claims we make on the Internet rise to the level of poetry, much.
