I will engage in any sincere and respectful argument made in the spirit of open inquiry. My purpose is not mainly to win or convince, but to continue the discussion.
Differences are welcome—they keep inquiry alive—so long as we hold them with respect, goodwill, and a scholarly spirit. I will try to restate opposing views in their strongest form, note points of agreement, and address the substance of the argument (ideally its central point) rather than tone, motives, or persons.
I will not respond to uncivil, bad-faith, or low-level replies (name-calling, ad hominem attacks, pure contradiction without substance, etc.).
In short: open to reasoned disagreement that advances understanding; closed to the rest.
"May we continue to have our differences, for scholarship would be a dull affair without them, but may we continue to have them with respect, affection, and the true spirit of scholarship."
- Donald E. Queller (The Venetian Patriciate) [also see: Dennett's "How to Compose a Successful Critical Commentary," Graham's "Hierarchy of Disagreement," and "What Unites Us"]
"...my ultimate purpose, either in writing or in lecturing, is not so much to convince readers or listeners of the merits of my argument as to engage them in an ongoing discussion."
- James M. Buchanan (Economics from the Outside In)
"Compassionate policy requires dispassionate analysis."
- Walter E. Williams (Race & Economics)
“It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.”
-Murray N. Rothbard (1995)
"The prudent man always studies seriously and earnestly to understand whatever he professes to understand, and not merely to persuade other people that he understands it; and though his talents may not always be very brilliant, they are always perfectly genuine. He neither endeavours to impose upon you by the cunning devices of an artful impostor, nor by the arrogant airs of an assuming pedant, nor by the confident assertions of a superficial and imprudent pretender. He is not ostentatious even of the abilities which he really possesses. His conversation is simple and modest, and he is averse to all the quackish arts by which other people so frequently thrust themselves into public notice and reputation."
- Adam Smith (Theory of Moral Sentiments)
"The qualities of mind...that I seek to emulate: the willingness to question anything, and anybody, on any subject anytime; the categorical refusal to accept anything as sacred; the genuine openness to all ideas; and, finally, the basic conviction that most ideas peddled about are nonsense or worse when examined critically."
- James M. Buchanan (Economics from the Outside In)
"...truth eludes us if we do not concentrate our attention totally on its pursuit."
- Alexandr Solzhenitsyn ("A World Split Apart")
"Upon this first, and in one sense this sole, rule of reason, that in order to learn you must desire to learn, and in so desiring not be satisfied with what you already incline to think, there follows one corollary, which itself deserves to be inscribed upon every wall of the city of philosophy: Do not block the way of inquiry."
-Charles Sanders Peirce
"...truth eludes us if we do not concentrate our attention totally on its pursuit."
- Alexandr Solzhenitsyn ("A World Split Apart")
"Upon this first, and in one sense this sole, rule of reason, that in order to learn you must desire to learn, and in so desiring not be satisfied with what you already incline to think, there follows one corollary, which itself deserves to be inscribed upon every wall of the city of philosophy: Do not block the way of inquiry."
-Charles Sanders Peirce