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DuplexFields  Ask me how the FairTax proposal works. All four Political Compass quadrants should love it.  2yr ago (text post)   2005 thread views

Culture Peace Roundup threads?

A suggestion: to avoid especially acrimonious discussion and SSC-posting being our only hallmarks as an independent community, let’s discuss things we can generally come together on.

In a Culture Peace thread, I’d expect to see:

  1. An explanation of part of one’s own culture/group identity/tribally specific hobby one feels is misunderstood, without denigrating those who misunderstand

  2. Events or news stories which genuinely sow harmony instead of discord

  3. Suggestions for additional Culture Peace actions we can do on The Motte, elsewhere online, and in real life

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Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

In sadder news, the Heterodox Out Loud podcast from Jon Haidt’s Heterodox Academy has ended. Its archives are still up.

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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!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

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."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


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