[lbo-talk] What are you reading now?

[Eubulides]

Tayssir John Gabbour wrote:
> >From his chapter entitled "Corruption in Evidence Presentations:
> Effects Without Causes, Cherry-Picking, Overreaching, Chartjunk and
> the Rage to Conclude":
>
>     "Making a presentation is a moral act as well as an intellectual
>     activity. The use of corrupt manipulations and blatant rhetorical
>     ploys in a report or presentation -- outright lying, flagwaving,
>     personal attacks, setting up phony alternatives, misdirection,
>     jargon-mongering, evading key issues, feigning disinterested
>     objectivity, willful misunderstanding of other points of view --
>     suggests that the presenter lacks both credibility and
>     evidence. To maintain standards of quality, relevance, and
>     integrity for evidence, consumers of presentations should insist
>     that presenters be held intellecutally and ethically responsible
>     for what they show and tell. Thus /consuming/ a presentation is
>     also an intellectual and moral activity."
>
>   
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What does deploying the term morality add to any of what he's asserting? 
Dealing with the above problems has no more to do with so-called 
morality than non-marital sex between consenting adults has anything to 
do with morality. The pejorative casting of rhetorical ploys is itself a 
rhetorical ploy....
>   
> The consumer/producer relationship is clear to me. Unfortunately I
> can't evaluate your claim why it's incoherent, since you haven't
> offered your reasoning to me.
>   
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I don't see any argument that it is a consumptive relationship.

What does it mean to say I've consumed 2+2=4? A hammer? A theatrical 
performance?

One could offer lots more examples of the above......................

Ian