In Defence of Ruthless Criticism in the Search of what’s Best
patrikschumacher.substack.com
This short essay takes aim at the discourse culture of our discipline. Rigorous debate has been hollowed out in recent years. In schools of architecture criticising student work is increasingly avoided, seen as disrespectful, regarded as feature of a now outmoded toxic culture. One underlying factor is identity politics. If ideas are understood to be tied up with identity, then criticism is perceived as attack on those holding these ideas. The response is then indignation, and often explicit ad hominem attacks on the critic, rather than argument. The result is a dysfunctional bifurcation into an unforgiving de-platforming of unrelenting critics and an all-forgiving tolerance of all communicating within and according to the rules of the “safe space”. This logic violates a key principle of discursive rationality, namely that ideas are to be appraised irrespective of their bearers.
In Defence of Ruthless Criticism in the Search of what’s Best
In Defence of Ruthless Criticism in the…
In Defence of Ruthless Criticism in the Search of what’s Best
This short essay takes aim at the discourse culture of our discipline. Rigorous debate has been hollowed out in recent years. In schools of architecture criticising student work is increasingly avoided, seen as disrespectful, regarded as feature of a now outmoded toxic culture. One underlying factor is identity politics. If ideas are understood to be tied up with identity, then criticism is perceived as attack on those holding these ideas. The response is then indignation, and often explicit ad hominem attacks on the critic, rather than argument. The result is a dysfunctional bifurcation into an unforgiving de-platforming of unrelenting critics and an all-forgiving tolerance of all communicating within and according to the rules of the “safe space”. This logic violates a key principle of discursive rationality, namely that ideas are to be appraised irrespective of their bearers.