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ymeskhout  1yr ago (text post)   4710 thread views

What is your favorite Motte post ever?

I'm curious about not just what your favorite post is, but also what you think is the GOAT, or perhaps what you think is most illustrative and representative of this space (e.g. what would you show someone to get them intrigued). Please limit your post to only ONE pick and briefly explain why you chose it. This can be from anywhere within the Motte's history thus far, and r/TheThread is a good place to check in case you're having trouble finding something. Asking for a friend.

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'The longstanding open question here is over what "charity" means: does it mean being honest in your assessment of your enemies, or does it mean not recognizing "enemy" as a valid category? I hold to the former. The mods have not, to date, deigned to enforce the later. When they adopt that policy, my participation in this forum will end and I imagine the discourse will, from your perspective, improve immensely.'

Craven and I may have butted heads numerous times over the years but that's one of my favorites as well. That and McJunkers' civil war posts, both Irish civil war and American.

McJunker's history posts are my favorites, by far. I really enjoy FCfromSSC's output, and I consider it some of the most accurate culture war observations on the motte, but reading some wholesome history in the middle of all the culture warring simply felt best.

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This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

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