Episode 47: Ravi Bali on Conducting Arguments in an Honest, Revolutionary Manner
Brendan and Andrew welcome back Ravi Bali to discuss his recently-published essay, On Conducting Arguments in an Honest, Revolutionary Manner. Ravi explains why he thinks truth-seeking should be an important goal for revolutionaries, and why revolutionaries should debate differences among us, instead of assuming that it’s sufficient to agree about “the fundamentals.” He also discusses procedures he has identified that allow for proper debate, such as providing arguments, not just making assertions; making one’s assumptions explicit; and employing the principle of “inference to the best explanation” when evaluating arguments, in order to avoid dogmatism. In addition, Ravi and the co-hosts discuss the examples of bad argumentative practices, and better argumentative practices, that he provides in his essay; how the sections on Raya Dunayevskaya and Marxist-Humanism relate to the essay as a whole; and how the essay has thus far been received. We welcome and encourage listeners’ comments, posted on this episode’s page. Please visit MHI’s online print publication, With Sober Senses, for further news, commentary, and analysis. |
Thanks Ravi – really great discussion on political explanation and intellectual debate on the left as we seek a new place for humanity.