The forum guidelines require us to respect other members' points of view. The forum is open to a wide of range of perspectives, theories, even personal convictions. We can all learn from these contributions.

 

If you have an idea that could prompt someone to reconsider their perspective, it needs to be proposed delicately and tentatively for fear of causing offense. It pays to be wary when pointing out that you think other people have made mistakes. The principle of charity should be used in these situations. It is perhaps better to ask if they have considered or explored that idea, and why they rejected it. Their answer should be treated with respect.

 

But, as with philosophy, freedom of thought and intersubjectivity does not licence a total free-for-all. Factual claims and definitions can be objectively incorrect, poorly stated or under-motivated. This does not apply to words like feeling and emotion that gain their primary meaning in the common language; the words are what they mean in conventional conversation, however vague and nonconsensual, and common usages cannot be challenged by science. Alexithymia, though, is an exclusively scientific or clinical construct, and misunderstandings about what it refers to can have serious consequences (as with any other medical or psychiatric terminology). So there is good reason to point out deviations from the range of accepted meanings, albeit gently and encouragingly. At the very least people should be made aware when they are using the terminology in a non-standard way, as they could in fact be talking about a different phenomenon. Factual claims (e.g. who said what) can be corrected with the truth, theoretical claims (how something can be explained) can be challenged with sufficient justification. Personal testimony, however, cannot be contradicted; nobody else sees the world through your eyes.

 

Discussions should remain civil and respectful at all times; contradictions can threaten that. This forum is moderated, so if you have any problems with the tone of debate - breaches of etiquette or even just private sensitivies - you can raise the issue with hal@alexithymia.info.

 

--HAL--

Manager of the Alexithymiachatsite!