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jackIf you ask me about unproven assumptions I hold to, analagous to having faith in a god, I would normally claim something like "occam's razor" or "the scientific method". I can't show OR is correct without being able to extrapolate from past observations, but if I assume it, I can speculate confidently about the nature of the world.
There are also moral assumptions, which I've tried to articulate before. Eg. am I a utilitarian?
There are also much higher level assumptions, eg. about which political systems are generally beneficial. In theory you can measure that, but it's too complex to generalise about, so people tend to generalise from their own experience.
Most people I know wouldn't abandon deducing what the world is like with observation, science and logic, but progress isn't necessarily made by contradicting the previous position, but by saying it's fine as far as it goes, but it's only a small part of a larger system. I have other hidden assumptions, eg:
Learning, knowing, understanding more is both asthetically pleasing and beneficial
Ah, already I'm hedging. If I have two justifications I obviously don't believe in either very much. But it's a good description of what I feel. My first reaction to anything is always to learn about it.
I implicitely assume understanding something is good in the long term. And I happen to prefer it. So when someone tells me about God, my first reaction is "Is it true?" I'm sure that believing in a false religion is bad in the long term.
But that might be hokum. We've almost always believed in some supernatural beings. Maybe it does perpetuate the species better? Maybe it does make life better for people? Maybe there are things more *important* than truth.
I can't abandon my commitment to truth. But maybe I can accept *some* things as more important. What about the assumption:
We can make poverty[1] history
It's *possible*. Is it *plausible*? I don't know. It's a statement of fact, more relevent than the corresponding statement of morality ("we should..."). But in this case I can see believing it will be a good thing, and that's more important than truth, so I'd be willing to adopt this assumption anyway.
(This is inspired by a conversation with Angel, but I've no idea how related to what she meant it is.)
There are also moral assumptions, which I've tried to articulate before. Eg. am I a utilitarian?
There are also much higher level assumptions, eg. about which political systems are generally beneficial. In theory you can measure that, but it's too complex to generalise about, so people tend to generalise from their own experience.
Most people I know wouldn't abandon deducing what the world is like with observation, science and logic, but progress isn't necessarily made by contradicting the previous position, but by saying it's fine as far as it goes, but it's only a small part of a larger system. I have other hidden assumptions, eg:
Learning, knowing, understanding more is both asthetically pleasing and beneficial
Ah, already I'm hedging. If I have two justifications I obviously don't believe in either very much. But it's a good description of what I feel. My first reaction to anything is always to learn about it.
I implicitely assume understanding something is good in the long term. And I happen to prefer it. So when someone tells me about God, my first reaction is "Is it true?" I'm sure that believing in a false religion is bad in the long term.
But that might be hokum. We've almost always believed in some supernatural beings. Maybe it does perpetuate the species better? Maybe it does make life better for people? Maybe there are things more *important* than truth.
I can't abandon my commitment to truth. But maybe I can accept *some* things as more important. What about the assumption:
We can make poverty[1] history
It's *possible*. Is it *plausible*? I don't know. It's a statement of fact, more relevent than the corresponding statement of morality ("we should..."). But in this case I can see believing it will be a good thing, and that's more important than truth, so I'd be willing to adopt this assumption anyway.
(This is inspired by a conversation with Angel, but I've no idea how related to what she meant it is.)
no subject
Date: 2006-08-01 11:05 am (UTC)