Read on Twitter
This is a thread about potential roles for commentators at conference talks.
I would like to remind/emphasize to philosophers that offering objections is only one of the many interesting and valuable things commentators can do.
I would like to remind/emphasize to philosophers that offering objections is only one of the many interesting and valuable things commentators can do.
I think there& #39;s some tacit social knowledge of this already. Certainly I& #39;ve seen some commentators do some useful things besides give objections. But they sometimes act apologetic about it, like they think they& #39;re "supposed" to object. Not so! (imo)
And while some of the things I& #39;ll list below are sometimes done, there are also some that I never or almost never see people doing in their comments. I& #39;d like to!
(I am agnostic on the applicability of/need for this advice in fields other than philosophy. I don& #39;t know those cultures well enough to write a thread about them. Others knowledgable about those fields should feel free to weigh in!)
OK so here& #39;s a list of things you can do in your commentary! Some of these are obvious but maybe some of them will be helpful to notice as options.
OBJECTION. "A argues that P; here& #39;s why that argument is uncompelling, and/or, here& #39;s my argument against P."
Everyone knows this one& #39;s an option. But it& #39;s only one option.
Everyone knows this one& #39;s an option. But it& #39;s only one option.
OBJECTION WITH ALTERNATIVE. "A argues that P; but the argument is consistent with Q or P, and I think Q better captures A& #39;s motivations here."
Better, but still quite negative.
Better, but still quite negative.
OBJECTION AND REPLY. "One might argue thus against A, but that argument won& #39;t work for this reason."
EXIGETICAL CHALLENGE. "A argued against B, saying that P. But here& #39;s why I don& #39;t think B is really committed against P, I think you may be agreeing after all."
CLARIFICATION. "A said that & #39;S& #39;. This is actually ambiguous between P and Q; here& #39;s what each option would look like, and some advantages and disadvantages for each. Which did A mean?"
These are all still pretty standard but I& #39;m just getting going!
These are all still pretty standard but I& #39;m just getting going!
STRENGTHEN. "A gave three arguments for P. Here is a fourth. Notice that it is nonredundant, since some ways of resisting As arguments would make resisting this one harder."
HIDDEN VIRTUE. "A& #39;s argument for P has unusual virtue V. This is a really good feature for arguments to have! Let me show you how useful V can be for other kinds of arguments, perhaps including arguments in other areas."
ANALOGY (IMPORT) "A& #39;s move is in topic X. Topic X is interestingly similar to unrelated topic Y, with parallel ideas and moves happening in each. The analogue of A& #39;s move in Y has such-and-such advantages and disadvantages, which may carry over to A& #39;s move here."
ANALOGY (EXPORT) "A& #39;s move is in topic X, which is parallel to Y. The analogue of A& #39;s move in Y would be totally novel there! Here& #39;s what that would look like. This would be a good contribution to that literature!"
GO FURTHER "A argues that P. I think the arguments are good, but actually push much further. We shouldn& #39;t just accept P, we should accept stronger claim Q! Or: we should also accept P in these other domains!"
LITERATURE SUGGESTIONS "Here are some related papers that would interact in interesting ways with A& #39;s project."
CONTEXT IMPLICATIONS "A answers question Q. A didn& #39;t discuss this, but here& #39;s why Q has been an important question, and how it connects to bigger issues. Let& #39;s work out the implications of A& #39;s answer for those broader matters."
OK I& #39;ll stop listing for now but I might add some more if I think of them. Others should feel free to add your own suggestions too!
I have nothing against objections, I just think commentators should be more creative about what the most interesting contribution they can make is!
I have nothing against objections, I just think commentators should be more creative about what the most interesting contribution they can make is!
One thing to say about all of these — one might worry about going off-topic and being self-indulgent. That is a reasonably worry, but the answer to is is to make sure that you& #39;re still engaging with the details of the talk itself a lot. This is possible for all of these forms.
