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wasoxygen  ·  4013 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why rational people disagree

    I've heard people say "I don't know" about political questions.
It's a good response. It is one of the few which is unlikely to be contradicted, even when it is false.

    Political positions are alterable by argument, or at gunpoint
You could get people to say that wealth inequality is okay by pointing a gun at them, but could you get them to believe it? A recent discussion questions whether a rational person actually decides what to believe, or is compelled toward inescapable conclusions.

Or, if someone has a political misapprehension and you change their mind with a good argument, how is that different from convincing them that "[Nearly pure] water freezes at [approximately] 32 degrees Fahrenheit [under conditions typical on the surface of the earth]" if they did not believe this was the case before?