Five big tips for skeptics aiming at talking to believers. First, know your own objective for the conversation, and make an effort to ascertain your interlocutor’s. Second, take stock of your interlocutor, particularly how intelligent and how emotional she is.… Continue Reading
To conclude my series of unsolicited advice about how to navigate a wide universe of conversational disagreements, thinking specifically about skeptics engaged in dialogue with believers, I’m getting more practical and less theoretical, and more specific to my chosen target… Continue Reading
Next, I want to consider a few things that I’ll address in ways that a lawyer would. These are “issues about issues,” and they are often not explicitly discussed in a conversation (at least, not in an interesting one) but… Continue Reading
Just because you’re an atheist doesn’t give you the right to be arrogant, condescending, nasty, insulting, or mean. Indeed, I would far prefer that you were not those things if you represent a skeptical point of view. I would rather… Continue Reading
Continuing my series on tips for skeptics talking to faithful people, once you have a sense for why you are in the conversation, and why your counterpart is in the conversation, it’s very useful to take stock of your intelocutor.… Continue Reading
If you’re like me, you are a skeptic, who might find yourself embroiled in a conversation with a believer from time to time about matters of religion and faith. It may happen unexpectedly, intentionally, or through the efforts of your… Continue Reading