Re:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/47570
and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/47556
Judging from the latest posts from Dr. JafforUllah and
Mehul Kamdar it seems like the fear that many or some of us
were having have finally come true. The exchange between two
of the distinguished and leading MM members has taken on an
acrimonious personal turn. This is unfortunate because as
putative defenders of freethinking and rationality both do or
should share more commonality than differences. And the
differences if any should be of no consequence as far as
rationality and freethinking is concerned. Because rationality
and freethinking can only admit differences that do not
contradict rationality and freethinking. I understand it all
started with supporting or criticizing Obama. Both position are
consistent with rationality and freethinking. Let us not forget
that American public have been effectively served with three
options now by the delegates, McCain, Obama or Clinton.
Sounding Rumsfeldesque I might say we go to the polls with the
candidates we have, not the candidates we would like to have.
So as prospective voters even a rational human being has to
chose between the three with all their flaws and foibles, and
all of them have it for sure. Now if there has to be a debate
as to which candidate is "best" among the choices given, then
for a rational person "A" supporting/opposing a candidate "X"
the only recourse is to present data(facts) with proper sources
and then use logic to justify the merits(demerits) of "X" based
on those data. A rational opponent "B" of "A" should ideally
point out the factual mistakes(using proper sources) and/or
logic presented by "A". There cannot be debate on opinions
based on subjective criteria. Debates can be meaningful in
refuting an argument, to falsify a factual statement (
Proposition), or to point out inconsistencies between two
positions of anyone. If one likes Obama or Clinton for reasons
other than factual ones then there is not much to debate on
that. Liking a specific candidate for no objective reason is
not inconsistent with rationality. But the bottom line still is
that given that none of the three candidates have 100%
integrity and have proven to lie or mislead and have vested
interests to serve it behooves to reason to argue on behalf of
one over the other based on facts and logic to make the case
that one is the lesser evil than the other or would be better
for USA in an overall sense than the other. Of course there can
still be an element of value judgment even after those facts
and logic to support/oppose a given a candidate, but at least
doing so would not contradict logic and facts.
Sounding Mr. Spockish I would suggest a rational debate in the
following format.
Re: (Reference to post being responsed to)
>[quote an exact line or a statement paraphrased accurately from
the above post that you disagree with]
[Provide here your logic and facts that refutes the above line or
statement.]
>[Another quote or paraphrased statement]
[refutations of above quoting sources and logic]
...
I believe the rest of the members have (or should have) the intellect to
judge who is correct and who is not based on the facts and logic provided
by both. Not to mention the positive side effect of learning from both of them
in the process. No amount of sarcasms or ad hominems should influence an
reasonably intelligent reader in judging the correctness of the argument.
Again, I believe that as putative defenders of rationality and freethinking
the differences both distinguished members have should be inconsequential
and cannot justify any bitter personal exchanges that we are unfortunately
witnessing here.
Thanks
Aparthib
--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by MailScanner, and is
believed to be clean.
------------------------------------
*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf
*****************************************
MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/
*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm
*****************************************
Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm
****************************************************
VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/
****************************************************
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
-Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:mukto-mona-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:mukto-mona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
mukto-mona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: