metaphysics wrote:
And I started to doubt that: can we get any results from our discussion?
I found it is becoming harder and harder for me to think about most of these topics throughly and to have a clear idea...
How many discussions have achieved a result?
Since none of us are policy makers (I don't think), none of the discussions are going to end with any real-world results outside of our own heads. Within our own heads, there are probably results. For myself, I have clarified my own position on some points (through having to defend it), changed my position on other points (from finding out things I didn't already know, rather than things I merely disagreed with) and found a position on some things I'd never before heard of (like Dielethiesm).
I have also found that practice making posts in PPR has improved my real-life skills in making arguments where how I present my side can actually change things- specifically at IEP meetings for my daughter.
Quote:
Not only discussions here, but most of discussions in our lives..Have they got a result, or not?
Sometimes and sometimes not. I don't always get my way no matter how skillfully I argue

. And I think I argue more skillfully than before thanks to PPR. Political discussions affect how I vote. Economics discussions affect how I spend my money. Philosophical discussions don't really affect any specific decisions but they do help my arguing skills in general. Life is full of decisions that are made after discussions. But when we do things like argue about Sarah Palin, that doesn't really have any real world effect, other than giving us debate practice.
Quote:
And why we do so if we cannot find answers or even a result?
No debate on these boards is ever going to lead to some sort of firm decision whereby the "right" answer to the debate is announced. Even if the board somehow reaches unanimity on an issue, a lurker could go live and disagree. But that's not the point of PPR. We aren't changing anything here except our own minds and sometimes other peoples' minds (not the people we are debating with, the people who haven't formed a decision yet). Pretty much no thread on PPR has a definitive answer. There are only issues that people agree or disagree about.
Quote:
"The true answer" does not exist. But we can have a clear answer that we believe it. And it is enough for a discussion already.
Yes, that.
Quote:
I am thinking about how do make my points clearly, and I would not post if I have not got real understanding on this point yet. Probably we need to spend more time in silence and meditation.
I would wait for your view on this point.
I spend time in silence and meditation when I need to clear my head and calm down and detox from too much stress. It's not really related to anything on PPR. Silence and meditation can't really add to PPR. PPR is for throwing things wildly out there and seeing what catches the interest of other people. It's very dynamic and not at all silent. (The clickety-clackety of the keyboard counts.)