The importance of “exposition” comes from how one uses it. The Free Market Center Journal will use expositions to give you something to think about, not to give you something to believe.

Exposition

I felt that I should include a short post describing the idea of exposition because it describes concisely what I want to accomplish here on The Free Market Center Journal.

First, a couple of definitions:

Exposition: a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.
Expository: intended to explain or describe something.

I intend for my posts on this site to consist of expositions. I intend to provide “comprehensive descriptions and explanations” and not lectures. I don’t want you to make notes and absorb what I write here as truth or fact. Yes, I want you to take notes, but only for contemplation. I want you to think about what I write and not believe what I write.

I believe in dialogue as a form of effective conversation. I don’t, on the other hand, believe in the effectiveness of debate.

Debate relies almost entirely on advocacy: i.e., stating a point of view and presenting an interpretation of facts that support that argument.

Dialogue combines advocacy with inquiry. In dialogue, a person advocates a description or explanation and offers assumptions that support that assumption. Then the presenter asks the other party to do the same: advocate his position and explain the assumptions he thinks to support his position.

Based on my brief explanation, I realize you might ask, “What is the real difference?”

I sum up the distinction by saying that debates attempt to achieve agreement. Dialogues attempt to stimulate thinking.

I offer the exposition on this site as one side of a dialogue. I want to make you think about my points. If you disagree, feel free to state your disagreement in the comments. But make sure to explain why you disagree. I will not engage in debates within the comments, but if your comments raise important points, I will address them in future posts.

Conclusion

We use Exposition to explain. We do not use it to indoctrinate.