Politics : Can leftists think critically?

As I expected, my thought experiment has raised a lot of debate, but none of it from leftists. They have, to a man/woman, been unable to provide an answer, one way or another.

https://filmboards.com/board/t/A-thought-experiment-for-all-the-sanctimonious-virtue-signallers-3339943/

I've argued for a long time that the difference between left and right is that only the right appear to be able to think critically and engage in genuine debate. The left just get angry and throw insults around.

What say you?

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

They prefer the state do the critical thinking for them.

That makes me think of another interesting point. They suffer with the Appeal to Authority logical fallacy. I notice they're fond of citing scientific studies, or books, in place of their own thoughts. The problem with that is they invariably are also arguing a different point, because the book or study isn't within the context of the discussion.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

There's a ton of that for sure. Science is the new religion. Even though it was initially meant to be accessible to all and ever-evolving through being constantly proven wrong (that's sort of the basis of the scientific method), it's gotten where the intellectually lazy believe only the priest class (scientists/doctors/whatever authority) can interpret the findings and the Word Shall Not Be Questioned. This is why I blocked Mongopole. I get nothing out of arguing with religious fanatics.

They suffer with the Appeal to Authority logical fallacy. I notice they're fond of citing scientific studies, or books, in place of their own thoughts.

You're so fundamentally stupid that you don't even know what the appeal to authority fallacy actually means.

Hint: citing a scientific source in support of a factual, science based argument ain't it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority

An argument from authority (argumentum ab auctoritate), also called an appeal to authority, or argumentum ad verecundiam, is a form of argument in which the opinion of an authority on a topic is used as evidence to support an argument.

https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Appeal-to-Authority

Description: Insisting that a claim is true simply because a valid authority or expert on the issue said it was true, without any other supporting evidence offered. Also see the appeal to false authority .

Even a broken clock is right twice a day, yet you can't even manage that!

I tell you what, I'll be charitable and assume you're a testosterone imbalanced little kid who's so ignorant he thinks he knows everything.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

You still have no idea what the fuck you are talking about.

Citing a source to support a factual claim in a dispute is not automatically a fallacy, you ignorant piece of shit.

Being an ignorant fuckwit, I'm sure you've never read a scientific paper in your entire worthless life. If you had, you would know that citations of other scientific sources occurs multiple times on every single fucking page. It is a valid practice which shows you are informed and pay attention to the work of your peers, which greatly increases the probability that the views you advocate are likely to be true and an accurate reflection of objective reality.

Let's face it–literally the only reason morons like you disparage the citation of knowledgeable experts is that by and large, your views of reality tend to be complete and utter bullshit, whether you're denying the reality of human caused climate change, the health benefits of wearing masks in a pandemic, or evolution by natural selection, all hallmarks of the ignorant right wing.

This is just a form of you idiots sticking your fingers in your collective ears and going "La la la". You people are just pathetic.

So, once again, you change your attack vector. It's no longer "that's not what Appeal to Authority" means, it's that you were citing people in support of an argument you were making. Even though you rarely ever do.

Ironically, this is the first time I've seen you argue without committing a fallacy. Often it's ad hominem, or the strawman fallacy.

I've written scientific papers, thanks for asking.

Every citation supports either another citation or supports or contests my hypothesis. You know scientists dispute each other's findings, right?

Nobody writes a paper and just cites people. The paper is itself a new argument, or further evidence, one way or another. That's the point.

I'm sorry you've embarrassed yourself here. Please don't blame me. I didn't force you to come into this thread, throwing a tantrum and confirming my OP is well founded…

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

So, once again, you change your attack vector. It's no longer "that's not what Appeal to Authority" means. . .

Actually, it still is shit for brains. As your own sources state, merely citing an expert to support a case is not sufficient to count as a fallacy. And yet you suggested it is.

I'm sorry you've embarrassed yourself here. Please don't blame me. I didn't force you to come into this thread.

You might want to read my post again.

It's all here. All the evidence. Cite me…

Oh wait, you already have, and you still can't see how you're wrong.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

Ah, I see that you have chosen to argue with micropole. You want to REALLY stymie the leftist apologist fuck? Ask him to solve the sheep/wolves problem.

He insists that the electoral college is outdated. I asked him to come up with a better solution with the same level of detail as the Founders spent detailing how the electoral college works. The electoral college prevents the tyranny of the majority. I.e. a sheep and 2 wolves voting on what to have for dinner. Every time he chose to pipe up I gave him the same challenge. The closest he could come to an answer it that "the courts would do it" with zero elaboration on how that was supposed to work. Finally he got pissed and blocked me.

So go ahead and ask him for the solution to sheep/wolves. Also, let him know that Soul-Venom accepts his surrender. Because that is what blocking is.

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We have to ignore the far left by disproving their lies by our actions - Tim Scott

There is plenty of critical thinking on both sides.
Two parties, and they both think that they are right and the other is wrong. Ain't Democracy grand?

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You asked a pretty question; I've given you the ugly answer.
Fasten Your Seatbelts….
It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night!

That's not what the evidence suggests. Have you watched many debates? The leftist always gets over emotional and starts slinging insults, the person on the right (whether they're right or wrong) provides a reasoned argument. Every time.

Same thing happened in my thread.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

I'm 65 years old. I have seen many debates.
Relax. I'm happy to be an American. There are times when I am not always proud.
That is all that I care to say on this subject. I refuse to argue with you. There is enough of that going on.

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You asked a pretty question; I've given you the ugly answer.
Fasten Your Seatbelts….
It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night!

That is all that I care to say on this subject. I refuse to argue with you.

I can respect that.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

There are some very poor champions for the right here as well, and they can be easily identified. I am thinking of four in particular.

I believe you, but I'd dearly love to know who those idiots are. I have less tolerance for people behaving like that on the right because they're counter-productive to the cause.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

I don't think that MMC2, DrakeStraw, Soul Venom or Senor Poo or whatever his name is, are being smiled on fondly from Heaven by William F. Buckley.

Yes, fair enough.

Ok, so apart from MMC2, Soul Venom, Drake Shaw, and Poo Whatever, people on the right don't resort to name calling…



(To be fair, they do at least support their arguments with logic, from what I've seen.)

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

Psst! Don't forget Yerdumb.

Can anyone think critically? In all my travels and dealings with folks both in real life and on the internetland, I’ve yet to encounter anyone capable of thinking critically. That does include me. Even though I try to do it, I find that I still struggle with it like the rest of you people.

I’m afraid I am human too.

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I live. I die. I live again.

Yes, many people can. Thanks for your honesty though. Perhaps your own lack of critical thinking skills means you fail to spot the ability in others?

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

No, I really don’t think anyone can, bro. But I’m glad you’re at least willing to be the optimist.

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I live. I die. I live again.

So, critical thinking, as an ability, doesn't exist? Or can animals do it?

Stop being moronic.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

No. What I’m saying is no living creature can do it.

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I live. I die. I live again.

So rocks can do it? Air? If no living creature can do that kind of thinking, what can?

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

I think you’re being obtuse.

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I live. I die. I live again.

You can't say critical thinking exists without explaining who it exists for.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

How does that make sense?

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I live. I die. I live again.

This is poor trolling, even for you.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

I beg to differ.

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I live. I die. I live again.

I'm pleased for you.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

The more basic question is can leftists think?

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😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 😠 Let's go, Brandon! 🙂 I like cashews!

They think with their hearts.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

No, they think about how they can obtain more POWER and CONTROL over our everyday lives.
That's what they really want.

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😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 😠 Let's go, Brandon! 🙂 I like cashews!

Because they think they'll be able to fix humanity's flaws with that power.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

Maybe, but I think they're just more interested in all that power.

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😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 😠 Let's go, Brandon! 🙂 I like cashews!

I am one of those annoying people who believes that nobody is evil. Everybody thinks they're doing the right thing, or that it's a means to a righteous end.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

Fair enough, carry on. But I'm sticking with the whole power and control thing. And btw, you're not annoying.

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😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 😠 Let's go, Brandon! 🙂 I like cashews!

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish

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😺 Schrodinger's Cat walks into a bar, and doesn't. 😠 Let's go, Brandon! 🙂 I like cashews!

Much more than the right who believe in bullshit like qanon, the election was stolen, and god.

To which we can also add climate change denial, refusal to believe wearing masks in a pandemic helps out, and insisting evolution by natural selection never happened. There is no comparable denial of objective reality coming from the left–nothing comes even close.

It's funny how posting this thread in the face of all of that has only proven people on the right have no critical thinking skills.

FuckingFaggotShithead

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I am Anna. I am Google.

Spend 10 minutes listening to Joy Behar and Juan Williams, then come back and ask that question again.

Yes, I know, someone is going to say they are liberals, not leftists, but those designations are simply two sides of the same coin.

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And This, Too, Shall Pass Away

I disagree. I'm a classic liberal, but I'm definitely not a leftist.

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R. I. P. FFS (1975-2021)
Murdered by a Teutonic catfish