Honestly, I’ve seen a few different definitions for it, from an argument that’s just meant to br antagonistic, another is that it’s one where the one making seeks to win no matter what, another is where the person making it knows it’s wrong but makes it anyway.
Can anyone nail down what arguing in bad faith actually is for me? If so, that’d be great.
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Bad Faith is actually a fairly broad topic, and changes depending on the context.
In casual conversation, my understanding of bad faith is when someone presents the opposition in an overly negative light. This is used to attempt to label them as a “bad person,” which lets them circumvent arguing the actual topic at hand, and simply dismiss everything they say as irrelevant because it came from a “bad person.”
Abortion is an example where I see excessive bad faith arguments from both the american left and right.
Far Left person: “The only reason people on the right want to reduce the number of abortions is to restrict the rights of women! They hate women!”
Far Right person: “The only reason people on the left want to have greater access to abortions is because they do not value human life! They don’t care about the baby at all!”
These are bad faith arguments in my mind as they fail to consider the *positive* aspects of the other side. It is unlikely that the majority of people are motivated by a negative idea, instead they are pushing for what they believe to be an overall societal good.
The Far Left person is motivated by wanting greater bodily autonomy for women, and to see less children born into impoverished scenarios.
The Far Right person is motivated by wanting to defend the rights of the unborn child who cannot defend themselves, and view the termination of the pregnancy as adjacent to murder.
Both sides have legitimate points to argue from. Most people on the right could concede that children born into impoverished scenarios with mothers who aren’t ready to take care of them is a generally bad thing for society. Most people on the left could concede that defending the rights of an unborn child is a worthy cause, and that abortion should not be treated flippantly.
Most people are fed so many extreme talking points that paint the other side as “bad people,” that they perceive them as an immoral enemy. When really, most Americans would actually be able to shake hands and agree on a fairly reasonable middle ground.
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