Restating your position is not compelling argumentation for your position.
It's truly dismaying how many possibilities I've noticed there have been to say this to people since I started watching for it. Try it. See how many people in conversation do that.
Example:
Someone recently told me that they wanted to see a particular movie. I asked them why. They said it looked interesting.
"Yes, I gathered that it interested you when you said you wanted to see it. That's what that means. My question was about why it interests you."
I can't tell if this is a recent development or I've just been noticing it recently (like the last few years).
Wondering if there are any thoughts on the matter out there.
@torq Its possible due to the rise of instant gratification. In your example, the person might be emotionally triggered by the movie trailer, but never contemplated why. So when you ask the question, instead of them considering the complex dynamics of why, they assume you prefer speed over clarity.
Most people today don't consider why they become emotional or even try to augment it. Consider there's a slider of priority between thinking and feeling. It differs for everyone.
Another possibility is shame. Let's say you're asking your Mom why she wants to see the movie and the main reason is she finds the main actor sexy, she might be just quickly deflecting. Or if there's someone that has a crush on you and they are shy, they might be probing for further engagement with you hoping you want to see the movie too. By asking "why" they instantly feel caught and fear their intentions may be revealed.
I'm a CTO and I experience this often with employees and associates, I just want to collect data so I can do my job better, but it's often perceived as if I'm evaluating their personal performance which scares them when really I'm just thinking, "we've got a hardware bottleneck somewhere", I even started personally increasing benefits, and rewards so maybe they'll realize I'm super satisfied with their performance. That backfired, they became more satisfied with their job => more afraid of losing it.
When I read your post, I laughed so hard because it reminded me of that scene with Thor and Eitri the dwarf in Avengers: Infinity War.
Eitri: Don't do that, it's suicide!
Thor: Only if it kills me.
Eitri: Yes, that's what suicide means.
All humor aside, do you think there's any solutions to this issue? It's getting worse.
Sorry for the long toot, but your toot was quality thought provoking, and thought it warranted a quality response.
@skanman @torq I am totally with you both on this. In a discussion with someone on Bird Place, I used yourlogicalfallacyis.com to show the fallacy I observed. "Oh no! You're not gonna trot that out on me! I was captain of the debate team in college!" Never did actually address the fallacy I observed.
Formal logic simply isn't taught at the common level, and it certainly isn't used in common debate.
