This is an annoying comic. It is important to be precise with language. The problem isn’t people who want to be precise with language, like this strawman character, the problem is people who want to muddy discussion by only pretending to seek precision, like Shapiro or Kirk. The kind of people who value precision like this strawman typically would not disagree to begin with but agree on the condition of refining the expression of it, rather than refuse to engage with the point until it is worded correctly. The appearance of refusing to engage with the point is a rhetorical technique, being misunderstood by the artist, used to make the imprecise speaker (probably the artist) understand the importance of precision, hence why this is a strawman.
That, or this comic is actually intended as an endorsement of this behavior depicted, and I’ve totally misread it. But I doubt that. Ironically, the behavior depicted in the comic is pretty much how it should be.
This is an annoying comic. It is important to be precise with language. The problem isn’t people who want to be precise with language, like this strawman character, the problem is people who want to muddy discussion by only pretending to seek precision, like Shapiro or Kirk. The kind of people who value precision like this strawman typically would not disagree to begin with but agree on the condition of refining the expression of it, rather than refuse to engage with the point until it is worded correctly. The appearance of refusing to engage with the point is a rhetorical technique, being misunderstood by the artist, used to make the imprecise speaker (probably the artist) understand the importance of precision, hence why this is a strawman.
That, or this comic is actually intended as an endorsement of this behavior depicted, and I’ve totally misread it. But I doubt that. Ironically, the behavior depicted in the comic is pretty much how it should be.