# Arguments as soldiers Debates are only interesting insofar as both sides are committed to listening to the other party's ideas. Indeed, the purpose of such a discussion is to be exposed to a different point of view in order to adjust our beliefs, much like a Bayesian update (see [[Bayes' rule]]). Once a participant sees the discussion as a war in which every opposing argument is an enemy to be killed by their own argument soldiers, any hope for intellectual growth is lost and the debate becomes meaningless. --- ## 📚 References - Yudkowsky, Eliezer. [Policy Debates Should Not Appear One-Sided — LessWrong.](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/PeSzc9JTBxhaYRp9b/policy-debates-should-not-appear-one-sided)