{"id":11190,"date":"2022-02-10T02:31:10","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T15:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/?p=11190"},"modified":"2022-07-23T00:55:16","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T14:55:16","slug":"four-reasons-why-you-should-never-say-do-your-research-to-win-the-argument","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/10\/four-reasons-why-you-should-never-say-do-your-research-to-win-the-argument\/","title":{"rendered":"Four reasons why you should never say \u2018do your research\u2019 to win the argument"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s fairly common to see many claims or arguments end with a curt \u201cdo your research\u201d. In some ways, it\u2019s a bold call to action. \u201cCome on people! Wake up! You\u2019ll see the truth of the matter if only you see it with your own eyes!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This type of statement is highly evocative and persuasive \u2013 in an emotionally manipulative way. Here are four reasons why we should avoid telling others to do research when discussing a topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Burden of proof<\/b><\/h3>\n

There\u2019s a general rule in argumentation: \u201cWhat can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.\u201d What this means is that if we make a claim about the world, we bear the burden of proving that our claim is true. Carl Sagan famously argued this as \u201cextraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is an essential part of public discourse \u2013 if we want the public to agree with us, we must accept the burden of proof for demonstrating our ideas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Say we want to make a claim like: \u201cThe COVID-19 vaccine is poison.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is an extraordinary claim. We have a well-established track record of safe vaccines. To begin to take the \u201cpoison\u201d claim seriously, we\u2019ll need some serious facts to back it up.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps there are studies that demonstrate that a vaccine is poisonous or causes significant adverse reactions. But it\u2019s still our job to provide that evidence \u2013 no one is required to take us seriously until we do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once that evidence is provided, we can evaluate whether that evidence is reliable and whether it relates to the main claim.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Confirmation bias<\/b><\/h3>\n

Our minds don\u2019t always work by being slow, reasonable and deliberate \u2013 that would be exhausting. Instead we use what\u2019s called heuristics (mental shortcuts) to enable us to act and behave quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n

We use heuristics to make choices while driving in traffic, or deciding which way to dodge in a football game, or when to turn down the heat when cooking. There are simply too many tiny decisions to make every day to not have these shortcuts.<\/span><\/p>\n

A cognitive bias is similar to a heuristic but with an important distinction \u2013 it comes with an error embedded in the decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

A specific type of cognitive bias is a confirmation bias: the tendency to interpret facts and information in a way that supports what we already believe. For example, if we\u2019re distrustful of government, we\u2019re more likely to believe news stories about corruption and fraud on the part of our elected officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem with confirmation bias is that it leads us to irrationally privilege certain types of information over others. It\u2019s much harder to change our minds when they\u2019re already primed to believe certain things \u2013 about vaccines, for example. In our search for information, we\u2019ll look to sources that support claims we already agree with or deny claims we don\u2019t like. If we are already suspicious or fearful of a vaccine and someone says \u201cdo your research on the harms of the vaccine\u201d, we\u2019re more likely to cherry-pick individual cases of adverse vaccine effects.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Poor intellectual virtue<\/b><\/h3>\n

Someone who tells others to do the research is looking for others to come to the same conclusions they\u2019ve already drawn. That\u2019s not discussion or debate. It\u2019s seeking uncritical agreement and social acceptance.<\/span><\/p>\n

We all seek validation of our perspectives and beliefs, but we need to do more than this. We should welcome sincere engagement and criticism.<\/span><\/p>\n

Effective democracies require that we engage with each other using intellectual virtues like honesty, open-mindedness and rigorousness. We should aim to be truth-seekers, looking to evaluate evidence and determine credibility in all things.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Unreasonable expectations<\/b><\/h3>\n

We can\u2019t expect that everyone has the time to thoroughly examine every publication on a given topic. Even if it took only 10 minutes to read a scientific article on vaccination safety (which is a huge underestimation for a paper that is thousands of words long), effective research would have us reading at least half a dozen of them to see what experts in the field are saying.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just reading. It isn\u2019t counting the time to learn various terms and vocabulary in that field, to learn about the disagreements and schools of thought, or to form our own opinion on the quality of that research.<\/span><\/p>\n

At a minimum, we\u2019d be looking at hours of investigation for someone else\u2019s argument. If the arguer puts forward their evidence, we\u2019d still need to do our research on whether that evidence was accurate \u2013 but at least now we\u2019re talking about minutes, not hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming better at arguing<\/b><\/h3>\n

One of the most fundamental virtues in listening to each other and improving the quality of our discourse is curiosity. One of the real dangers for our lives is becoming uninterested in other perspectives \u2013 or, worse still, becoming uninterested in the truth itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll never have a full picture of complex social and scientific problems. Our lives are busy and complex themselves and we simply don\u2019t have the time to properly investigate every topic put before us. If someone wants to be taken seriously, the least they can do is present their argument in full.<\/span><\/p>\n

We can still meaningfully engage with each other, but we have to be honest about our information and where we got it from.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no good telling others to do our homework for us.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This article was originally published on <\/i><\/b>The Conversation<\/b><\/a>. It is republished under Creative Commons.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Photo by Obie Fernandez on Unsplash.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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