Philosophy
Had lunch with Jeff Maynes yesterday and we got to talking about his research in experimental philosophy.
In philosophy, topics we deal with are often not open to empirical investigation. Therefore, we often use intuitions as data. This is frequently the case in ethics and the philosophy of language. We test boundary cases, for example, where clearly this act is wrong, yet moral system X permits it showing that the system is not a necessary condition for moral rightness.
But while the intuitions are about untestable claims, what becomes testable is how widespread the intuitions are. So a group of philosophers have recently begun testing exactly this. Experimental philosophy in part looks at the intuitions at the heart of certain major philosophical works and sees whether those intuitions are shared by non-technicians, by the average person.
The question we discussed is what this shows. Suppose you have a minority intuition, does this mean that your intuition is in some sense wrong? Can your intuitions change? Is this a result of life experiences? How about as a result of rational argumentation? If intuitions are malleable, can they be used in philosophy in the way we tend to? If we surrender them, what else do we have for discussing the cogency of many philosophical views?
- Folk Physics
Let's test the intuitions today with one I gave to my first year seminar yesterday: You are sitting in the aisle seat of a jet awaiting take-off when the child next to you hands you his helium balloon. You hold it in your hand next to the aisle as...
- Field Values, Teaching Ethics, And Sheroes As Role Models
C. Ewing gives us three questions. Taking them in order: precisely what work is accomplished by physical objects so far as the theoretical is concerned? I'll readily concede that it fits our intuitions better (or at least, most of our intuitions),...
- Democracy, Atheism, And Reference
A few more philosophy questions (imagine that). C. Ewing asks, "If we are obligated, as we'll just assume for this, to follow the general will, and the general will really is for the best of all concerned (and hence, the ultimate goal anyway), then...
- Peter Singer - The Life You Can Save, In 3 Minutes
We all like to think that we are good, moral, compassionate people. Of course, that's always easier said than done. Often, we tend to consider ourselves good simply because we are not out doing evil stuff, but not doing evil doesn't make you good;...
- Religion...intuitive And Analytic Thinkers
"Losing Your Religion: Analytic Thinking Can Undermine Belief" A series of new experiments shows that analytic thinking can override intuitive assumptions, including those that underlie religious belief by Marina Krakovsky April 26th, 2012 Scientific...
Philosophy
Intuition and Truth
Had lunch with Jeff Maynes yesterday and we got to talking about his research in experimental philosophy.
In philosophy, topics we deal with are often not open to empirical investigation. Therefore, we often use intuitions as data. This is frequently the case in ethics and the philosophy of language. We test boundary cases, for example, where clearly this act is wrong, yet moral system X permits it showing that the system is not a necessary condition for moral rightness.
But while the intuitions are about untestable claims, what becomes testable is how widespread the intuitions are. So a group of philosophers have recently begun testing exactly this. Experimental philosophy in part looks at the intuitions at the heart of certain major philosophical works and sees whether those intuitions are shared by non-technicians, by the average person.
The question we discussed is what this shows. Suppose you have a minority intuition, does this mean that your intuition is in some sense wrong? Can your intuitions change? Is this a result of life experiences? How about as a result of rational argumentation? If intuitions are malleable, can they be used in philosophy in the way we tend to? If we surrender them, what else do we have for discussing the cogency of many philosophical views?
- Folk Physics
Let's test the intuitions today with one I gave to my first year seminar yesterday: You are sitting in the aisle seat of a jet awaiting take-off when the child next to you hands you his helium balloon. You hold it in your hand next to the aisle as...
- Field Values, Teaching Ethics, And Sheroes As Role Models
C. Ewing gives us three questions. Taking them in order: precisely what work is accomplished by physical objects so far as the theoretical is concerned? I'll readily concede that it fits our intuitions better (or at least, most of our intuitions),...
- Democracy, Atheism, And Reference
A few more philosophy questions (imagine that). C. Ewing asks, "If we are obligated, as we'll just assume for this, to follow the general will, and the general will really is for the best of all concerned (and hence, the ultimate goal anyway), then...
- Peter Singer - The Life You Can Save, In 3 Minutes
We all like to think that we are good, moral, compassionate people. Of course, that's always easier said than done. Often, we tend to consider ourselves good simply because we are not out doing evil stuff, but not doing evil doesn't make you good;...
- Religion...intuitive And Analytic Thinkers
"Losing Your Religion: Analytic Thinking Can Undermine Belief" A series of new experiments shows that analytic thinking can override intuitive assumptions, including those that underlie religious belief by Marina Krakovsky April 26th, 2012 Scientific...