Latest news with #Dennett
Time of India
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Stuck in a heated philosophical debate? Here is how 'Straw Man' and 'Steel Man' might just save the conversation
If you've ever found yourself mid-debate, frustrated and misunderstood, chances are you were dealing with a straw man—and no, that's not a Halloween prop or a country fair game. In the philosophical and rhetorical world, the straw man is the age-old trick of misrepresenting someone's argument so badly that it becomes easier to tear down. But what if we told you there's a nobler, smarter, and ultimately more respectful way to debate? Welcome to the world of steelmanning. #Operation Sindoor The damage done at Pak bases as India strikes to avenge Pahalgam Why Pakistan pleaded to end hostilities Kashmir's Pahalgam sparks Karachi's nightmare The Science of Better Arguments: From Fallacies to Fairness A straw man argument simplifies, exaggerates, or distorts someone's point to the point of absurdity—making it easier to ridicule or refute. It's like arguing that vegetarians want all carnivores arrested or that environmentalists are against electricity. These are not real arguments; they're hollow stand-ins, designed to win points, not understanding. Enter steelmanning —the intellectual antidote to lazy argumentation. This isn't just semantic judo. It's about engaging with the strongest possible version of your opponent's claim, even if they haven't made it that clearly themselves. And according to the late philosopher Daniel Dennett , it's not just good manners—it's essential to meaningful conversation . Daniel Dennett's Four-Step Guide to Arguing Like a Philosopher Back in 2013, Dennett laid down four rules that should guide any productive philosophical exchange . First and foremost, try to express your opponent's position so clearly and generously that they might say, 'I wish I'd said it like that.' Then, identify the common ground you share. Third, acknowledge what you've learned from their perspective. Only after all that—yes, only then—should you offer critique or rebuttal. Dennett wasn't inventing a new trend; he was reviving the Socratic method . Socrates, as recorded by Plato, spent more time clarifying and reinforcing his opponent's claims than tearing them down. The purpose? To make the dialogue meaningful, not theatrical. You Might Also Like: Are we deciphering 'Ikigai' all wrong? The truth behind Japan's most misunderstood philosophy — rmnth (@rmnth) Why It Matters: Debate is Not a Battlefield The real power of steelmanning lies in its respect for truth over ego. While the straw man lets you score quick wins, it does so at the cost of intellectual honesty . You're not just defeating a weaker version of your opponent's argument—you're avoiding the real one. In political discourse , especially, this has become epidemic. Scholars Robert Talisse and Scott Aikin even identified a newer variation called the selection form —picking the weakest, most fringe views from the opposing side and pretending that they represent the whole. Worse still is the hollow man , where you invent an argument out of thin air and refute it triumphantly. You'll recognize it in statements that begin with 'some people say…' or 'they believe that…' followed by an absurd position no one has actually taken. It's intellectual shadowboxing, impressive only to the person doing it. And then there's nutpicking —a cherry-picked parade of irrational or extreme voices used to paint an entire group as misguided. It's less a debate and more a smear campaign disguised as logic. iStock While the straw man lets you score quick wins, it does so at the cost of intellectual honesty. You're not just defeating a weaker version of your opponent's argument—you're avoiding the real one. Steeling the Mind, Strengthening the Dialogue Steelmanning, by contrast, is an act of intellectual generosity. It forces you to confront not just what's wrong with your opponent's views, but what might be right. In doing so, it sharpens your own reasoning, reveals hidden assumptions, and encourages growth on both sides. You Might Also Like: Silent damage: How parental screen time is rewiring young minds and fueling mental chaos? Study reveals Even if your conversation partner hasn't presented their argument perfectly, steelmanning invites you to dig deeper—to find the gold hidden under poor phrasing or emotional delivery. And in a world increasingly driven by echo chambers, memes, and hot takes, the ability to think charitably might just be the skill we all need most. So next time you're stuck in a heated conversation, resist the urge to burn down a straw man. Instead, build a steel one—and see how far both of you can go.
Business Mayor
10-05-2025
- Health
- Business Mayor
Teenager had common pain she thought was caused by cycling – it was killer stage 4 cancer
The heartbroken mother of a 15-year-old has told of her shock at learning her teenager may succumb to late stage bone cancer, despite suffering virtually no symptoms. Millie Robinson, from Poole, Dorset, was a perfectly healthy student when, last month, she fell off her bicycle while out cycling with her father. Soon afterwards she developed a pain in her arm, which the family assumed was a result of the accident. But when the sensation intensified, her mother Krista, a 38 year-old carer, decided to take her daughter to A&E. Doctors performed a series of tests including several X-rays, before sending the pair home. But later that evening doctors called Ms Dennett to ask her to bring Millie back to the hospital for an emergency MRI. After spotting a worrying pattern on the scan, the family were referred to a London hospital for a biopsy that eventually revealed the devastating truth. Millie was diagnosed with stage four osteosarcoma—bone cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs and other bones. Healthy and fit Millie Robinson, 15, from Poole, Dorset, was diagnosed with stage four bone cancer after she developed arm pain when she fell off her bike only a few weeks ago in April But Millie and her mother Krista, 38, insisted there were zero warning signs of the tumor in her arm—which had already spread to her chest at a staggering 11 centimetres. Doctors also suspect there is one in her elbow too Doctors discovered that the disease had migrated to her chest, and they suspect there is cancer in her elbow too. 'I felt absolutely sick, it was the worst day of my life,' Ms Dennett said of the diagnosis. 'It's all just happened so quickly. Our whole world got turned upside down in just a few hours, it's crazy how much it's changed our lives. 'It was a miracle she fell of that bike, the doctors said she would have been dead in six months without treatment. 'It's been really tough, but day-to-day you don't even have time to think about it because it's all happening so quickly and I have to stay strong for Millie.' The teenager is now undergoing nearly three months of gruelling chemotherapy before major surgery to remove the tumours, which will be followed by a further four months of radiation treatment. Speaking of the shock of the diagnosis, Mrs Dennett said: 'We had absolutely no inkling. 'Doctors asked her if she had experienced any symptoms like weight loss, headaches or fatigue, but there was nothing to say she wasn't well.' Millie had dreams of being an air hostess and travelling the world, but has had to drop out of school to focus on the intensive treatment Osteosarcoma is rare and one of the deadliest childhood cancers, with an estimated 150 new cases diagnosed in minors in the UK every year. But long-term survival rates have remained unchanged for over 15 years, with fewer than seven in 10 patients on average surviving beyond five years. Many of the most typical signs of the disease can mimic common ailments—including pain, swelling, fever, fatigue and weight loss. More obvious symptoms include a lump near the infected area, weak or easily broken bones and difficulty moving certain limbs. Ms Dennett, who has one other child, has had to leave her job in order to look after her daughter full-time. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with their costs including travel to the hospital an hour away in Southampton and overnight stays. Millie had dreams of being an air hostess and travelling the world, but has had to drop out of school to focus on the intensive treatment. Doctors have given the family hope that the disease could be curable. 'She's been so brave and strong, she's absolutely amazing and still smiling,' her mother said.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Veteran councillor quits 'immoral' Labour Party
A highly respected veteran councillor has quit the Labour Party accusing it of "losing its moral compass" under the leadership of Keir Starmer. John Warmisham, who has been a Salford councillor for 34 years resigned his membership last night. His decision will be a major blow to the local party as well as an embarrassment for the national one. In a letter to Salford's City Mayor, Paul Dennett, explaining his decision his says: "I feel I have no option but to resign from the Labour Party, a party that through this current national leadership has lost its moral compass and no longer represents the communities that it was set up to serve." Councillor Warmisham, 66, became a councillor in 1991 and went on to hold key posts including chairman of education, then chair of housing and chair of social services. He is currently chairman of the city's licensing and development panel. READ MORE: Metrolink extension to FOUR new towns called for in Parliament READ MORE: The Lazy Sunday Quiz: Test your general knowledge with these 10 questions - March 23, 2025 In his letter to Mr Dennett, he adds: "Cutting the welfare benefits to the disabled, the sick, the poor and the vulnerable, whilst committing billions of pounds to arms and supporting wars is immoral, as well as government ministers pushing pensioners, families and children further into poverty. "This in no way reflects on you or the Labour Group who have stuck and continue to do so, to the socialist principles that the Labour Party was founded on. "I will continue to serve my current term of office out as an Independent Socialist and represent the people of Pendleton and Charlestown Ward, who I care for very much, in the city I love." Flying in the face of Labour's national policy to cut Winter Fuel benefit to some pensioners, Salford City Council diverted some of its funds to make sure all Salford people who were entitled to it in the city received it. Politically Coun Warmisham is on the left of the party, as is Mr Dennett, and the city's MP, Rebecca Long Bailey, who was deputy to former Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn. Councillor Warmisham had already announced that he intended to step down from local politics and not seek re-election in 2026. Born in Higher Broughton, Salford, Councillor Warmisham, lives in the city, in nearby Broughton Park. He has been a key member of the ruling Labour Group in the city for three decades, but has a reputation for speaking his mind even if it clashes with local or national policy. His background is steeped in the trade union movement. At age 16, he became a shop steward for apprentices working for the Manchester Direct Works Department. He was a union rep for 16 years. For 12 years he has served on the European Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and became leader of the UK delegation. A life-long Manchester United fan, he switched his allegiance to FC United after the Reds were taken over by the Glazer brothers.
Fox News
23-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Trans athlete Sadie Schreiner alleges ban from Team USA track events amid quiet rule change to gender policy
Transgender track and field runner Sadie Schreiner posted a video on social media last Sunday claiming to have been banned from the US Track and Field (USATF) events at the USATF Maine Association Indoor Championships. The president of USATF Maine said Schreiner competed in the event and no disqualification occurred. Schreiner recorded the video while sitting by a campfire in the woods, somberly suggesting the athlete had likely just competed in Schreiner's last organized track meet in the U.S. "I very likely just ran what will be my last meet in the United States," Schreiner said, later adding, "I will find a way to keep competing, but I doubt that will be in the United States." Schreiner said USATF changed its policy on transgender eligibility from the one used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which allows biological males to compete in the women's category, to the one used by World Athletics, which bans any athlete who has undergone male puberty from competing as a woman. The USATF's official transgender eligibility policy does now reference the World Athletics guidelines on its official webpage. It previously referenced the IOCs policy, as seen in an archive via Wayback Machine. Schreiner alleges to have been told about the change by USATF at 1 a.m. the night before the competition. "They tried to threaten me by saying they now adopted World Athletics transgender policy," Schreiner said in the video, later adding, "USA Track and Field purely did this just to ban me from competing." USATF Maine president Mark Dennett told Fox News Digital that Schreiner competed at the event in Maine and no disqualification occurred. "The athlete did compete and there were no disqualifications in the meet," Dennett said. Fox News Digital has reached out to Schreiner for a response to Dennett's statement. USATF's updated policy and Schreiner's alleged incident at the Maine Association Indoor Championships came weeks after a controversial appearance at the USATF Open Masters Championships on March 1. There, Schreiner competed in the women's 400-meter dash and 200-meter dash, taking first place in both events. Schreiner won the 400-meter dash by default, as the other participants in the event, Anna Vidolova and Amaris Hiatt, had no recorded times and are listed as DNS, did not start. In the 200-meter dash, Schreiner defeated 14-year-old runner-up Zwange Edwards, 16-year-old third-place finisher Zariah Hargrove, 15-year-old Leah Walker and 18-year-old Ainsley Rausch. That event also had multiple participants listed as DNS, including 18-year-old Jordan Carr, 46-year-old Amanda Taylor, Vidolova again and 16-year-old Paula Damiens. Schreiner's appearance and subsequent wins at that event prompted criticism on social media. Schreiner even suggested that incident is what prompted the recent change. "USA Track and Field has silently banned trans athletes due to my participation," Shreiner said. There has been an ongoing battle over trans inclusion in women's and girls' sports between the state government and President Donald Trump's administration. On March 17, the Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it found the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association and Greely High School in violation of Title IX for continuing to enable trans inclusion in girls' sports. In the announcement, the department said Maine had 10 days to correct its policies through a signed agreement or risk referral to the U.S. Department of Justice for appropriate action. The deadline to comply is coming up within the week. Schreiner previously competed for Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) women's track and field team and gained national notoriety for dominating female opponents and frequent social media videos boasting about it as an openly transgender competitor. However, Schreiner was ruled ineligible to compete for RIT after the NCAA revised its gender eligibility policy Feb. 6, one day after Trump signed an executive order to ban trans athletes from women's and girls' sports. RIT provided a statement to Fox News Digital confirming this on Feb. 12. "We continue to follow the NCAA participation policy for transgender student-athletes following the Trump administration's executive order. Sadie is not participating in the next meet," the statement said. Later in February, Schreiner posted a video claiming the athlete's running speed became slower after taking medication to increase estrogen. Schreiner spoke of wanting to speak to policymakers at the NCAA to discuss the policy before it went into effect. "They could have seen the results of their previous policy and how it made me equitable, but they didn't," Schreiner said. "And I would still love to have that conversation. I would still love to educate more people if I was properly allowed to." Schreiner has been a controversial figure in women's track and field in the past year, especially after an appearance at the 2024 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in May. Earlier that month, Schreiner competed at the Liberty League Championship and won both the women's 200- and 400-meter, breaking the 400-meter record in the process. Schreiner would have finished last by more than two seconds in the men's competition. In late January, Schreiner bragged after winning an event against female opponents. "Not the race I was looking for at all this week, my spikes nearly fell off on the turn and with a poor start my time wasn't nearly what I wanted," the runner wrote in an Instagram post. "The good news is that the season just started, and I'm going to leave everything on the track at nationals," Schreiner added with a transgender pride flag emoji. On Jan. 17, Schreiner took first place in the 200- and 400-meter dashes at the Brockport Friday Night Rust Buster, taking top spots over two female seniors. In the 200-meter dash, Schreiner beat RIT teammate Caroline Hill by 1.5 seconds and took first place in the 400-meter dash from Brockport's Marissa Wise by nearly 3.5 seconds. Schreiner's results achieved automatic qualification for the All-Atlantic Regional Track and Field Championships. On Jan. 24, Schreiner took first place in the 200-meter dash at the RIT Friday Meet, beating out Liberty League junior Lexi Rodriguez of Brockport with an even faster time. On Jan. 30, Schreiner took first place in the 200- and 400-meter dashes against Liberty League opponents. Schreiner also spoke out against states and colleges that were not offering the trans athlete a full scholarship when Schreiner wanted to transfer in December. The athlete blamed laws in 25 states that prohibit trans athletes from competing with girls and women. "Among all the hurdles transfers usually have, there is an extra layer because it is trans, 50% of the country banned me from participating and that meant I couldn't attend any of those colleges even if they reached out to me with a full ride," Schreiner said. "It also became clear that states that did, no matter how adamant the coaches were to have me on their teams, the college administrations would usually stop them from allowing me to participate." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The massive change that could make part of Salford a 'regional destination'
Plans for a new city centre park in Salford tipped to become a 'regional destination' have been supported by the mayor and council. Part of a huge regeneration project spanning Strangeways in Manchester and the Cambridge area of Salford, the scheme aims to create a new 60-acre space known as Copper Park, which will draw people from across Greater Manchester if approved. It includes new 'play and recreation space' in a central location based between Broughton Lane and Great Clowes Street, north of the River Irwell and close to both Manchester and Salford city centres. READ MORE: New Man United stadium verdict as 'spectacular' Ineos masterplan gets glowing review READ MORE: Highway Code rule could see people fined hundreds of pounds even when not driving A report on the proposed park states that it could be used for a mix of occasions such as sports and play, along with opportunities for 'large scale cultural events'. The wider regeneration plans will see a total of 7,000 new homes built across different neighbourhoods in the scheme, with around 2,000 homes being considered in the Overbridge area on the boundary of the two cities. Salford mayor Paul Dennett and the council's cabinet team backed the 'exciting' plans during a meeting at Salford Civic Centre on March 11. The plans are being discussed by Manchester City Council during a meeting on Friday, March 14, and will later move to a public consultation before progressing. Mr Dennett said: "The prospect of this is creating a new inner-city park which I think is quite exciting to say the least. "It's often said that Salford is a 'dirty old town' but it's a city and it's not dirty anymore, it's 60 per cent green and the proposals in this paper today will enhance that even further.' There are around 100 existing homes in the Salford area which are owned and managed by Salix Homes, according to a report on the plans. Salford's mayor said the work is 'not asking residents to move out of the city of Salford,' and stressed the need to 'accommodate residents' needs and aspirations if there are implications for them' as a result of the regeneration work. If the plans are approved, it could also create major benefits for the city's flood defences. Coun Mike McCusker, Salford council's lead member for planning, transport and sustainable development, added: "Residents who live there [in the Cambridge area of Salford] are well aware of the risk of flooding and are happy with flood basins that Salford has created. 'Those flood basins were introduced at a point in time, and the data we now have is showing we are experiencing an escalating risk of flooding in the area. 'People in that area say we need to know how we are going to defend ourselves in the future, and this plan is responding to that."
