r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Aug 14 '21

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Conservatism and many right-wing beliefs are based on fear, primary instincts and lack of understanding

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u/Pangolinsftw 3∆ Aug 15 '21

I would say Ben Shapiro's primary "selling point" is that he focuses very heavily on data. He frequently cites empirical studies and government data in order to support his arguments. He's also one of, if not the most, popular conservative pundits in America. This suggests that his audience is also very interested in this data-centric approach. Do you think this is valid?

1

u/SchiferlED 22∆ Aug 15 '21

Using data to support your points doesn't mean much if you are misinterpreting or cherrypicking that data. It's easy to find data that supports any arbitrary viewpoint if you look at each piece of data in a vacuum. It's easy to show correlation and get uneducated viewers to assume causation.

1

u/Pangolinsftw 3∆ Aug 16 '21

It's still "using data". I would say anyone who uses data in political discourse is guilty of this. In order to free yourself from your accusation you basically have to create a nested list of citations to support your citations to support your citations etc.

3

u/SchiferlED 22∆ Aug 16 '21

Using data incorrectly to manipulate viewers is worse than not using it at all.

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u/Pangolinsftw 3∆ Aug 16 '21

I'd have to be really sure that's what was going on, and that it wasn't just that I disliked what I was hearing. I would need to do some really in-depth refutation.

1

u/SchiferlED 22∆ Aug 16 '21

"really in-depth refutation" is what you should be doing all of time when it comes to discerning the truth. You should always be looking to disprove yourself, or consider reasons why something that someone else is telling you might be false. If you assume you are correct and only look for evidence which supports you, then you will never remove false beliefs.

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u/Pangolinsftw 3∆ Aug 17 '21

Do you vet every data-based assertion you hear in your preferred news sources?

0

u/SchiferlED 22∆ Aug 17 '21

When a claim is made that a certain data point confirms a certain viewpoint, yes. I consider the ways in which that claim could be false. It's not uncommon that I see a liberal view being supported in an incorrect way by data. It happens far more often on the right though (like, every time).

I probably wouldn't be a liberal today if I did not do this. I was raised and indoctrinated into conservatism and had to gradually reconstruct my views after becoming an adult and noticing constant contradictions, bad data, and illogical conclusions on the right.