7 Comments
User's avatar
Pranay Kotasthane's avatar

Agree with your differentiation. Your framework's goal is to find common ground. Purva-paksha is generally used to represent the opposing view as faithfully as possible before addressing the lacunae in that argument.

You will find more details of purva-paksha in this book https://www.amazon.in/Theory-Practice-Studies-Debates-Dialogues/dp/8124608563

Expand full comment
H R Venkatesh's avatar

Thank you Pranay! As someone who is interested in tracing the evolution in ‘Indian thinking’ I will certainly check this book out.

Expand full comment
Kabir's avatar

I didn’t know what you meant by fake Ravan when you first mentioned it (and the AI images didn’t help). Only when you wrote that it referred to an effigy of Ravan that the penny dropped. So, I would probably prefer ‘Ravan ka putla’ in Hindi (putla = effigy) instead of nakli Ravan.

I think it’s easier to understand this analogy than strawman/ steelman or purva paksha.

Expand full comment
H R Venkatesh's avatar

Thanks Kabir, alas 'Rava ka putla' would have been beyond my Hindi :)

If ever you use this kind of analogy or your own take on it, do let me know if it worked or not!

Expand full comment
Sindhu Manjesh, Ph.D.'s avatar

A fine meditation on the absence (largely) and importance of Samvaad or deliberative discourse in our times Kunda!

Expand full comment
H R Venkatesh's avatar

Thanks Sindhu :) I think of polarisation increasingly as my beat.

Expand full comment
Sindhu Manjesh, Ph.D.'s avatar

Need sane voices like yours on this beat:)

Expand full comment