Talk:Josef Mengele/Debate Guide: Difference between revisions
imported>Howard C. Berkowitz (New page: ==Debate guide, not arguing article== I reiterate that I, in my own words, have never called Mengele a "war criminal". Robert Jay Lifton, then of CUNY and now a semiretired visiting p...) |
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If I write a "maybe", I'd further contextualize his quote. My "maybe" position, really more appropriate to [[war crime]] than Mengele alone, is that the unqualified term was used in 1945-1950 historiography and precedent-setting tribunals. It is not used in contemporary international law or historiography. Insisting on rigorous in the past is [[presentism]]; Lifton's reference was for impact and can be contextualized. [[User:Howard C. Berkowitz|Howard C. Berkowitz]] 16:19, 22 November 2010 (UTC) | If I write a "maybe", I'd further contextualize his quote. My "maybe" position, really more appropriate to [[war crime]] than Mengele alone, is that the unqualified term was used in 1945-1950 historiography and precedent-setting tribunals. It is not used in contemporary international law or historiography. Insisting on rigorous in the past is [[presentism]]; Lifton's reference was for impact and can be contextualized. [[User:Howard C. Berkowitz|Howard C. Berkowitz]] 16:19, 22 November 2010 (UTC) | ||
:I intend to restore my Maybe and add arguments for it. Further, I request that Martin delete the paragraph arguing about the article in its present form, which I have offered to modify once it is unlocked AND a debate guide added to receive the questionable quote. | |||
:He certainly can use his words to speak against calling Mengele a war criminal, but all should be aware I personally have never done so -- I've used words such as "alleged" or "suspected". The only positive statement in the article that refers to him as a "war criminal" is a direct quote from [[Robert Jay Lifton]], a widely accepted authority on Mengele and the broader context of Nazi medical atrocities. [[User:Howard C. Berkowitz|Howard C. Berkowitz]] 17:08, 22 November 2010 (UTC) | |||
Revision as of 12:08, 22 November 2010
Debate guide, not arguing article
I reiterate that I, in my own words, have never called Mengele a "war criminal". Robert Jay Lifton, then of CUNY and now a semiretired visiting professor at Harvard Medical School, a distinguished writer on The Genocidal Mentality (coincidentally the title of another book), is quoted in using it in a very specific context -- the quote makes no sense if the words are elided.
Nevertheless, if we follow Russell's suggestion of making this a debate guide, comments about specific articles are irrelevant.
If I write a "maybe", I'd further contextualize his quote. My "maybe" position, really more appropriate to war crime than Mengele alone, is that the unqualified term was used in 1945-1950 historiography and precedent-setting tribunals. It is not used in contemporary international law or historiography. Insisting on rigorous in the past is presentism; Lifton's reference was for impact and can be contextualized. Howard C. Berkowitz 16:19, 22 November 2010 (UTC)
- I intend to restore my Maybe and add arguments for it. Further, I request that Martin delete the paragraph arguing about the article in its present form, which I have offered to modify once it is unlocked AND a debate guide added to receive the questionable quote.
- He certainly can use his words to speak against calling Mengele a war criminal, but all should be aware I personally have never done so -- I've used words such as "alleged" or "suspected". The only positive statement in the article that refers to him as a "war criminal" is a direct quote from Robert Jay Lifton, a widely accepted authority on Mengele and the broader context of Nazi medical atrocities. Howard C. Berkowitz 17:08, 22 November 2010 (UTC)