Authoritarianism and pilpul

[Nfinkelstein]

Rhetorical tricks used by bullies to shut-down debate are sometimes referred to as pilpul. "He is pilpuling" means the bully is doing things like extreme hairsplitting, arguing points which have already been established, continually debating word meanings, engaging in ad-hominem attacks or straw-man tactics, shifting the goalpost, appealing to authority, ignoring evidence or refusing to acknowledge your points, shouting you down, and ultimately resorting to threats unless you submit.

The word has its origins in Hebrew and was meant to describe a Jewish debating technique but its meaning has evolved to describe any sort of bull**** tactic to distract from rational discussion.

If you engage in debate with someone like this, you might not realize what they are doing at first. "Wow this person is clever, a real debating god" --- yet upon reflection you realize he is just a fraud who doesn't care about the truth, only about making you accept his truth.

When they can't win the argument, they'll try to exhaust you by leading you along endless rabbit trails.

Authoritarianism is like this, especially now. They tell us what we can think, what we can say, and what we can do. They've stopped even trying to argue rationally. They just bully and coerce us until we submit. If we don't submit then we are marginalized, disparaged, vilified, demonized, threatened, and ultimately canceled, deplatformed, fined, or worse. Truth is irrelevant to them.

We live in a culture dominated by sociopathic pilpulers. If you haven't experienced pilpul yet, you will.

I'm encouraged that this forum exists, where we can still discuss ideas, and hopefully discover some truth.

 

[Regina]

Rhetorical tricks used by bullies to shut-down debate are sometimes referred to as pilpul. "He is pilpuling" means the bully is doing things like extreme hairsplitting, arguing points which have already been established, continually debating word meanings, engaging in ad-hominem attacks or straw-man tactics, shifting the goalpost, appealing to authority, ignoring evidence or refusing to acknowledge your points, shouting you down, and ultimately resorting to threats unless you submit.

The word has its origins in Hebrew and was meant to describe a Jewish debating technique but its meaning has evolved to describe any sort of bull**** tactic to distract from rational discussion.

If you engage in debate with someone like this, you might not realize what they are doing at first. "Wow this person is clever, a real debating god" --- yet upon reflection you realize he is just a fraud who doesn't care about the truth, only about making you accept his truth.

When they can't win the argument, they'll try to exhaust you by leading you along endless rabbit trails.

Authoritarianism is like this, especially now. They tell us what we can think, what we can say, and what we can do. They've stopped even trying to argue rationally. They just bully and coerce us until we submit. If we don't submit then we are marginalized, disparaged, vilified, demonized, threatened, and ultimately canceled, deplatformed, fined, or worse. Truth is irrelevant to them.

We live in a culture dominated by sociopathic pilpulers. If you haven't experienced pilpul yet, you will.

I'm encouraged that this forum exists, where we can still discuss ideas, and hopefully discover some truth.

 

[Grapelander]

A Manual of Rhetoric by Benjamin Humphrey Smart - 1848

 

[johnwester130]

flat earth