To broaden my exploration of diverse topics and potentially challenge unwarranted, fallacious preconceptions held by myself and my readers, I am launching a new series called the Steelman Series. To steelman an argument is to construct the strongest possible version of it to see how well it withstands scrutiny, in contrast with strawmanning an argument where one misrepresents an opponent’s argument to make it easier to attack.
Accordingly, I will select a debate topic and steelman one side of the argument one week, followed by steelmanning the opposing side the next week, ultimately letting the reader decide which side is more convincing. My current system of essays is quite unsystematic, where I arbitrarily write about topics on my mind while staying within the confines of faith and reason. That said, I will continue posting those diverse, personal topics, but they will be interspersed with more structured, thorough, and credibly cited arguments.
Everyone holds beliefs, and everyone has reasons for those beliefs; it would be naive to think otherwise. There are theories or beliefs I might wholeheartedly disagree with, but I always hope to at least say, “Well, I can see why you might affirm that, but personally, it just doesn’t hold up against the alternative side.” I may cover extremely unconventional or even controversial views, and you might not know which side I support unless I write about it in a post outside the Steelman Series. There might also be entirely innocuous debates that are still engaging to explore.
The nature of some arguments varies significantly. For example, if the topic is the “ontological argument for God,” one week will involve “Steelmanning the Ontological Argument” (a positive argument, likely longer to explain the concept), and the next week will focus on “Steelmanning Why the Ontological Argument is Flawed” (a negative argument, typically a shorter refutation). Another example might be “Steelmanning how Humans Have No Free Will Over Their Actions in Greek Mythology” one week, followed by “Steelmanning How Humans Have Some Free Will in Greek Mythology” the next. Both start from the same premise—the relationship between humans and gods in Greek mythology—but differ in interpretation. While the first essay might be slightly longer to establish the topic, neither position is inherently defensive or offensive; they’re interpretive.
My final clarification is that I’m not an expert, and some topics I’ll cover span entire books, so I can’t do full justice to each argument. However, I’ll strive to offer the most sincere attempt and provide resources after each essay for readers to explore more in-depth arguments. In fact, I will keep each essay open to revision if I encounter a stronger argument related to a given topic. I believe this series will allow me to explore topics I’m well-read in and refine debates where I lack a strong stance. I haven’t yet decided which topic to start with next week, but I have ideas—too many ideas.