The Devil and the Abyss

How the Concept of “Devil’s Advocate” Became Toxic to Productive Conversation

What does it mean to play “Devil’s Advocate”?

According to Wikipedia, devil’s advocate — or advocatus diaboli — was a real role created by the Catholic Church in the 16th-century as part of its canonization process. In order to be considered a saint, a person’s life must check off a number of boxes; so to test a prospective saint’s worthiness, the Church would hold a trial of sorts. The “Devil’s Advocate” was meant to investigate the…