Indicator questions¶
One way to get acquaintained another person is to ask indicator questions.
An example of such an indicator question is whether homosexuality is a “disorder”, i.e. something that disturbs the regular or normal functions of life.
a) If it’s a disorder, then we should help homosexual people to get healed from their disorder or, for incurable cases, to live with it in a way so that it doesn’t disturb other people’s lives. And of course we wouldn’t allow same-sex couples to raise children.
b) But if homosexuality is not a disorder, we would have to say that homophobia is the disorder, that same-sex couples may raise children.
It seems to me that this is a clearly binary question. Its either (a) or (b), never both. Philosophers would call it a case of tertium non datur, programmers would call it an exclusive OR.
A binary question doesn’t mean that you may not change your mind or remain undecided. Answering “I don’t know” to such a question can be better than picking the wrong option.
Oops, did I say the “wrong” option? Is there an absolute truth?
A binary question becomes a potential source of conflict when people with opposing opinions “clash” together.
Independently of whether you say (a) or (b), you need to explain your choice
I cannot find any scientific study saying that homosexuality causes any measurable harm.
A person who says that homosexuality is a disorder
loves the Bible more than God because she refuses scientific evidence,
causes harm to homosexual people by giving them wrong advice, e.g. trying to “help” them to become “normal”, and by fostering homophobia