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October 31st, 2017, 12:00 PM
Below are some tips to help you have a successful, fun philosophical conversation, that won't leave both sides unhappy and unsatisfied.
1. Listen
This is probably the biggest component. Instead of instinctively replying, stop, and reread what you want to reply to. Reread your reply. You'll be able to better express yourself in your replies, and people are more likely to give you that same listening back.
2. Speak politely
If conversations turn from conversations to debates or bash fests, feelings will get hurt. If "tones" become angry or overly defensive, the quality of the discussions will go downhill. Avoid calling people names, throwing insults at people, and just try to speak as nicely, and politely as you can.
3. Ask questions
If you're not familiar with the Socratic Method, it is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions. The more questions you ask, the more you can learn, the speaker can explain, and both parties can understand one another. Instead of immediately making disagreeing statements, which might make the other individual feel attacked and lower the productivity of the discussion.
4. Quality, not quantity.
This doesn't necessarily mean post two word posts and move on, but rather than write a whole, 500 page essay, where you're likely rambling and/or tangenting, make your post concise, but still thoughtful. Be mindful what the topic of the thread is, and what you are replying to, to avoid those tangents and unrelated subjects.
1. Listen
This is probably the biggest component. Instead of instinctively replying, stop, and reread what you want to reply to. Reread your reply. You'll be able to better express yourself in your replies, and people are more likely to give you that same listening back.
2. Speak politely
If conversations turn from conversations to debates or bash fests, feelings will get hurt. If "tones" become angry or overly defensive, the quality of the discussions will go downhill. Avoid calling people names, throwing insults at people, and just try to speak as nicely, and politely as you can.
3. Ask questions
If you're not familiar with the Socratic Method, it is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions. The more questions you ask, the more you can learn, the speaker can explain, and both parties can understand one another. Instead of immediately making disagreeing statements, which might make the other individual feel attacked and lower the productivity of the discussion.
4. Quality, not quantity.
This doesn't necessarily mean post two word posts and move on, but rather than write a whole, 500 page essay, where you're likely rambling and/or tangenting, make your post concise, but still thoughtful. Be mindful what the topic of the thread is, and what you are replying to, to avoid those tangents and unrelated subjects.