Abstract
Criticism may degenerate into quibbling or nitpicking. How can discussants keep quibblers under control? In the paper we investigate cases in which a battle about words replaces a discussion of the matters that are actually at issue as well as cases in which a battle about minor objections replaces a discussion of the major issues. We survey some lines of discussion dealing with these situations in profiles of dialogue.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Synthese |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 19-Jun-2019 |
Keywords
- Criticism
- Difference of opinion
- Freedom rule
- Hairsplitting
- Nitpicking
- Objection
- Profile of dialogue
- Quibble
- Talking at cross-purposes