Archie wrote: ↑Sat Nov 16, 2024 4:14 pm
Here is what I mean by "real debate."
Suppose I argue: X is false for reasons A, B, C, D, E, and F.
In normal debate, if you disagree with my conclusion you would dispute my reasons and perhaps offer your own reasons for the opposite conclusion.
What you do is to say that
we aren't allowed to argue that X is false because that would be incredulity and therefore you don't think you need to address any of the points raised.
I am not saying that. To make it very clear...
YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BE INCREDULOUS.
IT IS INCUMBENT ON ME TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE WHY YOUR INCREDULITY IS FALSE AND MISPLACED AND ADDRESS THE POINTS MADE.
That is why I am providing you with the evidence as to why reasons A to F are not evidence of lying, so that your argument of X is false is incorrect.
Example A, a witness claims 1000 people were crammed inside a gas chambers that was far too small to take that number of people. Revisionists use that to claim the witness has lied. I produce evidence from studies that prove people are poor at estimating the size of crowds, so it is more likely they just overestimated how many people were inside the gas chambers. The witness did not lie, they just got the number gassed wrong, because we are poor at estimating the number of people in a crowd.
Example B, a witness claims some bushwood was used to light a mass pyre of thousands of corpses. Revisionists claim that there is no way brushwood could start such a fire, so the witness is lying. I point out that the witness should not necessarily be taken literally. Brushwood is often used to start fires, it does not mean that there was no larger wood in the pyres. Anyone with real world experience of witnesses knows that they use descriptives, miss out details, and are not to be taken literally. Therefore, the revisionist claim of lying is not a definite, as it is also possible the witness description is poor and it misses out details.
Example C, Mattogno tries to work out how the Krema ovens could cremate so many corpses in an hour, based on witness claims about how many corpses were being cremated. He cannot figure it out how it was done, to his satisfaction and he concludes the witness is lying. That is pure argument from incredulity. Just because Mattogno cannot work out the calculations to his satisfaction, without doing any relevant experimentation, is not evidence to prove the witness lied. It could be that witness exaggerated how many corpses were being cremated, or they referenced one extreme time, as if that was the norm.
Example D, a witness describes a Nazi tearing children in half. That is physically impossible, but is it to be taken literally, or is it a figure of speech, like to tear a strip off someone? Could it be the witness is repeating atrocity hearsay evidence as if they saw it? The claim is not proven to be a lie, when there are other reasonable explanations.
Example E, Rudolf studies the remains of Kremas and delousing chambers at A-B and concludes the Kremas do not produce sufficient residue from Zyklon B, for there to have been repeated mass gassings. No experimentation was conducted, to test what is a theory by Rudolf. If a plastered or tiled surface is exposed to Zyklon B, for a certain period of time, so many times a week, and the surface is washed, without experimentation, we do not know how much residue would be left, to be found decades later. All Rudolf is doing is given his best opinion, based on his calculations. At most, he is providing expert opinion and no actual evidence. Since his claim is contradicted by every witness, and documentary and circumstantial evidence pertaining to the Krema operation 1943-4, his opinion is evidenced to be wrong. His incredulity is logically flawed.
Example F, a witness claims that when working at a camp, when he carried corpses to the graves, he ran the equivalent of a marathon every day. Revisionists claim that is evidence of a lie. It is an incredible claim, due to the physical effort needed. A trained and well-fed athlete would start to struggle, let alone a malnourished very day male. Studies find that when people are asked to estimate distance and time, they are poor. The results show that people are not very accurate. Therefore, rather than a lie, it is more likely that the witness over-estimated how far he ran and for how long each day.
Example G, a witness is asked when he visited a camp and he states a date that was before the camp was opened for operation. Revisionists claim that is evidence of a lie. Studies find that when people are asked to date past events, they are not very accurate. Therefore, rather than a lie, it is also possible that the witness just misremembered the date.
I can go on, but you will have got the point. It is fine for you to be incredulous, but only when your incredulity takes into account studies of witnesses and memory and the difference between theory and practice.