Re:Let the Other 95% of Great Programmers In
by simonebrunozzi on Friday December 26, 2014 @08:46PM
(#8801315)
Why is it called the Principle of charity? From what I read, it means assuming the best possible interpretation of the argument. But is that "charity"? I would have called it something different.
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Re:Let the Other 95% of Great Programmers In
by dang on Friday December 26, 2014 @09:34PM
(#8801435)
I assume it comes from a secondary meaning of the word in English, "leniency in judging others", applied here to others' arguments.
The reason we're thinking it may be appropriate for HN, by the way, isn't moral, but intellectual: uncharitable interpretations of others' arguments is all too easy and makes discussion tedious and uncivil.