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Beware of he who would deny you access to information...
2yr ago
"Because the term does have a relatively easy to grasp concept, sounds academic and authoritative, and has serious experts who study it, people will copy and spread the idea."
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
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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.
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Notes -
"Because the term does have a relatively easy to grasp concept, sounds academic and authoritative, and has serious experts who study it, people will copy and spread the idea."
Good read. Classic Gator.
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