> The article reads like you took every smartass redditor on the planet and condensed them down into an article. Why can I not express emotions in an argument, or why do I need to be 'rational', or why can I not be subjective? I don't mean this in an offensive way but why is everyone who argues supposed to pretend they're autistic, because that's honestly how this piece comes across.
The author never says you have to do any of those things. Just that if you want to argue constructively, then maybe being expressing a lot of hostility, irrationality, and subjectivity isn't the best way to do it.
I've had just as many constructive arguments that were angry, or subjective or whatever else. Hunter S. Thompson wasn't objective, but he was more insightful and sharper and commited to truth than most writers of the time. MLK didn't pull up an excel sheet when he advocated for a cause. Argumentation isn't just about facts, it's about expressing a state of mind and communicating authentically what one thinks, and if someone's angry then they ought to communicate it and I ought to be able to take it, they don't need to pretend to be Spok or something, I don't see the value in that.
I'm not even sure there's an objective definition of what a 'constructive argument' is. You can have an argument to settle a conflict, understand someone better, find an answer to some question, express emotions, demand justice or a hundred other things, a lot of which don't require anything on that list.
I think the author means 1 v 1 arguments where both participants are active and opposed. Your classic in person or internet argument.
Your definition of an argument is much broader and probably encompasses all of what I would call persuasion. From reading the article I never got the impression he was suggesting this is how you persuade a large group of people to act. If you are arguing with your uncle at Thanksgiving about politics and want it to be productive this guide might help. I think we can both agree if you're trying to convince a bunch of center left / left friends who mostly agree with you to take the day off and protest. This guide probably won't.
Did you come to a different understanding after reading the article?
The author never says you have to do any of those things. Just that if you want to argue constructively, then maybe being expressing a lot of hostility, irrationality, and subjectivity isn't the best way to do it.