tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post6622910963723245198..comments2024-03-18T22:21:33.261-07:00Comments on The Debate Link: The End of Grading Conservatives on a CurveDavid Schraubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04946653376744012423noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7321349.post-12420763419832433332017-05-01T07:58:17.736-07:002017-05-01T07:58:17.736-07:00You probably should link to the actual Bret Stephe...You probably should link to the actual Bret Stephens article so that readers can easily view the offending article.<br /><br />This post reminds me of something that happened during my PoliSci 101 class at college. Apparently one of the conservative students got a crappy grade and anonymously complained. The teacher would constantly fawn over a Swedish foreign exchange student and all the socialist policies there, so he thought the teacher was biased. While the teacher probably was biased in some way, the conservative student who I thought was the one who complained made some of the dumbest arguments I think I heard in any college class. <br /><br />That being said, I really can't get on board with the bulk of your article. <br /><br />So much of political opinion rests on values rather than good argumentation. From a Jonathan Haidt/Righteous Mind perspective, someone on the left probably values things like fairness or care highly, while someone on the right might favor loyalty and sanctity. People then concoct stories and arguments to convince themselves that this is the right way of thinking. <br /><br />For instance, consider the conservative in my PoliSci 101 class. The dumbest thing I recall him saying was in response to the teacher asking about the opinion of Attorney General John Ashcroft. He had said something to the effect of he seems like a good guy and I trust him. He completely ignored what any of the other students had said about Ashcroft's policies and only really cared about the guy's personality. In retrospect, it was very ingroup, supporting the white Christian Republican like himself. He also displayed a lot of respect for authority. <br /><br />I'm sure a smarter Republican could have come up with a much better defense of Ashcroft. However, it never would have convinced a single liberal in the class. What would the smart Republican argue? He would argue that X and Y and Z policies supported by Ashcroft are good. And why are they good? The Republican would say law and order are important and reduce crime and A and B and C. These are values. And the liberal would complain that the policies have problems D and E and F. And it would turn out that they value law and order, but they also care about some other values that the Republican considers less important. <br /><br />And who is right and who is wrong? I don't know.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01457388998903348000noreply@blogger.com