Previous: Unpacking Skullduggery
Let's pause our grim journey thru Rationalism Gothic, & take a quick detour to Rationalism La-la-land:
If Anna had listened to Ziz explain both the folly & horrors of her "gender test"- if she had not responded as though Ziz were "personally attacking her"- what might she have done differently?
Anna might have:
1. Stopped in her tracks & apologized to Mz. Ziz: "My approach has been hurtful. I have treated you as an irrational menace, rather than as a human being w/ valuable insight. I see now that my so-called gender test has real consequences for how welcome you feel in this space, & I'm sorry."
2. Said: "I don't want to be someone who weaponizes Rationalism to justify unfair exclusion. I'm instead curious to learn how I can repair some of the harm I've caused."
3. Asked herself uncomfortable q.s:"Have I been more interested in defending my beliefs than in discovering cold, hard truth?" "Have I been assuming that ppl who disagreed w/ me were biased, while not applying that same skepticism to myself?"
4. Reached out to other trans Rationalists in a spirit of non-pressuring humility, asked how she can make things right, & offered to publicly acknowledge her past mistakes
5. Publicly addressed the issue in Rationalist spaces, perhaps saying: "These spaces should not be issuing ideological purity tests, esp. when our members' dignity & right to self-knowledge are at stake.”
6. Encouraged open discourse that doesn't punish ppl for speaking up abt harm
7. Inwardly vowed that she will henceforth admit when she doesn't have all the answers
8. Made a continuing practice of using her lofty rank among the Rationalists to push back against gatekeepery, & to encourage self-correction as a sign of epistemic strength, not weakness
9. Committed to building spaces where everyone can challenge biases w/out fearing expulsion
10. Made reflecting on her biases & staying open to critique an ongoing practice
11. Regularly reviewed her reasoning w/ trusted peers- esp. those brave enough to challenge her
...yet back we must now trudge to what *really* happened: back we must now turn to Rationalism Gothic.
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