I believe that this forum should not be a forum for certain debates, such as that over holocaust denial. I do not see this as a “trade-off” of epistemics, but rather a simple principle of “there’s a time and a place”.
I am glad that there are other places where holocaust denial claims are discussed in order to comprehensively debunk them. I don’t think the EA forum should be one of those places, because it makes the place unpleasant for certain people and is unrelated to EA causes.
In the rare cases where upsetting facts are relevant to an EA cause, all I ask is that they be treated with a layer of compassion and sensivity, and an awareness of context and potential misuse by bad actors.
If you had a friend that was struggling with depression, health, and obesity, and had difficulty socialising, it would not be epistemically courageous for you to call them a “fat loser”, even if the statement is technically true by certain definitions of the words. Instead you could take them aside, talk about your concerns in a sensitive manner, and offer help and support. Your friend might still get sad about you bringing the issue up, but you won’t be an asshole.
I think EA has a good norm of politeness, but I am increasingly concerned that it still needs to work on norms of empathy, sensitivity, and kindness, and I think that’s the real issue here.
I really dislike the “2 camps” framing of this.
I believe that this forum should not be a forum for certain debates, such as that over holocaust denial. I do not see this as a “trade-off” of epistemics, but rather a simple principle of “there’s a time and a place”.
I am glad that there are other places where holocaust denial claims are discussed in order to comprehensively debunk them. I don’t think the EA forum should be one of those places, because it makes the place unpleasant for certain people and is unrelated to EA causes.
In the rare cases where upsetting facts are relevant to an EA cause, all I ask is that they be treated with a layer of compassion and sensivity, and an awareness of context and potential misuse by bad actors.
If you had a friend that was struggling with depression, health, and obesity, and had difficulty socialising, it would not be epistemically courageous for you to call them a “fat loser”, even if the statement is technically true by certain definitions of the words. Instead you could take them aside, talk about your concerns in a sensitive manner, and offer help and support. Your friend might still get sad about you bringing the issue up, but you won’t be an asshole.
I think EA has a good norm of politeness, but I am increasingly concerned that it still needs to work on norms of empathy, sensitivity, and kindness, and I think that’s the real issue here.