Yekke2 – is that a good idea? I mean if you really think that something is against the Torah, are you allowed to try to pretend you think it’s true and to try to provide convincing arguments for it?
It happens to be that both in real life and online, whenever people are arguing one side too strongly, I usually do present the other side (in either direction), but that is because/when I think there is some truth to both sides, not because I was deliberately saying something that I thought wasn’t true.
misteryudi – I agree with you that if people never thought things through clearly and never tried to see both sides, that it’s a good idea to do so. But what about those people who have thought through the issues clearly, have spoken to people on both sides of the fence, and perhaps even originally thought the other way before they researched the matter enough and thought it through enough and came to the conclusion that this is the correct point of view and perhaps the only point of view according to the Torah? Is it really such a good idea in that case to try to present
the other side of view?
Maybe it’s even assur to do so. There is a concept in Torah hashkafa of staying away from negative influences. The only way it is mutar to read things that are not according to Torah hashkafa is if you are trying not to be influenced by it – not if you are.
At the same time, I do agree that when presented with a different point of view that is not clearly against the Torah, one should think about it and not be closed to the possibility that the other person is right or partially right and you may be wrong or partially wrong, but that does not seem to be what you are saying.
Of course, if you are talking about issues that are not Torah related, it is different, but I think most of the topics raised in the CR are (except for the American politics ones).
I’m just raising the possible problems with doing this, although I suppose it depends how it’s done.