Pointless to Argue on the Internet

150 Years Ago, a Philosopher Showed Why It’s Pointless to Start Arguments on the Internet

Don’t feed the trolls.

Quartz
Olivia Goldhill

Photo from Reuters/ Kacper Pempel.

Wildly inaccurate facts and spurious arguments are unavoidable features of social media. Yet no matter how infuriatingly wrong someone is, or just how much counter-evidence you have at your disposal, starting arguments on the internet rarely gets anyone to change their mind. Nearly a century-and-a-half ago, British philosopher John Stuart Mill explained, in a few clear sentences, why certain arguments simply won’t go anywhere. As historian Robert Saunders notes, Mill’s analysis neatly applies to heated and futile internet debates.

Mill highlights the often overlooked reality that many opinions aren’t based on facts at all, but feelings. And so, contradictory points of information don’t shift emotionally rooted arguments, but only cause people to dig deeper into their emotions to hold onto those views.

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https://qz.com/1513176/john-stuart-mills-philosophy-shows-arguing-online-is-futile/