I don’t see ridicule as doing anything except for unjustly saying that your position holds intellectual high ground and your opponent’s a buffoon. At most it becomes an appeal to emotion: “look how dumb that position is, don’t you want to not be dumb like I am?”. This is not rigorous argumentation.
His point is that ridicule is necessary to bring religion from a position that is collectively considered to be beyond reproach to a mundane argument that could be engaged or refuted. He did not claim that ridicule is useful for any other arguments that are not in a position that is collectively considered to be beyond reproach. An argument that is already allowed to be engaged should not be ridiculed, but proven right/wrong rigorously.
Ridicule is a sort of social sanction for violating the norms of society. It can have value in society by penalizing people who do not conform. With respect to discussions about religion and science there may be two (more?) different sets of norm in play, and ridicule may be less effective, not understood, or even abused (bullying). I think ridicule may sometimes have value IF it causes a person to reconsider flawed assumptions, or to realize consequences. I often use light-hearted humor point out when (i think) others are wrong, and that might be construed as ridicule. I try not to over-do it.
That said, ridicule is often unproductive. I understand the frustrations that often lead to people using ridicule.
Ridicule isn’t productive. It often hardens a person’s position instead of helping them to consider alternatives.
I would seriously love to make an exception for The Hitch, along with some others like Carlin and Gore Vidal. Exceptionally well crafted ridicule comes close to being useful . . . but not quite.
Perhaps if it is very gentle, or if one-time shock value gets to point across, but for most hardened veterans of The Argument it’s not going to move the needle at all. One of the reasons I am here at PS is to try to move away from those arguments likely to turn into Brockian Ultracricket. I can play that game with the best of them, but it doesn’t accomplish anything.
I can recall two fairly recent times where I was ridiculed (on FB), and both of those people were … a bit unhinged, seemingly unable to participate in a serious discussion.
PS: I try to stop engaging with the “unhinged” people once I recognise the situation. Further engagement seems like playground bully behavior; both ridicule and cruelty.
