[FRIAM] What's so bad about Scientism?

[Marcus Daniels]

OCD<https://psychcentral.com/lib/doubt-ocd-how-do-you-make-a-decision/> is another condition that might explain a fixation on doubt.   Perhaps individuals in very narrow specialties are especially concerned with reputation and will go to great lengths to minimize regret or embarrassment, but I don’t think even careful people act like theorem provers.    The world keeps turning and there is no time for that.



On 7/7/18, 4:06 PM, "Friam on behalf of glen" <friam-bounces at redfish.com on behalf of gepropella at gmail.com> wrote:



    Well, of course you know where I stand on this. That description of 'doubt' is useless to me because I doubt everything. There is no such thing as 'paralyzing doubt'. I'd lean more towards Marcus answer on that.



    Similarly, I don't place 'good thought' in opposition to doubt. To me, doubt IS good thought. The absence of doubt would be the worst kind of thought. And I suppose that implies that science includes the active maintenance of methods by which we doubt/question various assertions.



    On July 6, 2018 8:37:38 PM PDT, Nick Thompson <nickthompson at earthlink.net> wrote:

    >There is another solution to suicidal skepticism which Is to embrace

    >scientism but broaden the definition of science.  This, I think, is

    >CSPeirce's way.  We define good thought as any thought that will, in

    >the fullness of time ... the very, very fullness of time .. be agreed

    >upon.  Good thought is thought that, once and for all, assuages doubt.

    >By doubt, here, I don't mean entertained doubt.  I mean doubt

    >sufficiently profound that one cannot, when one needs to, pursue any

    >course of action.  REAL doubt.  Paralyzing doubt.

    >

    >Now, science is defined as that method, that will be agreed, in the

    >very long run to produce good thinking.

    >

    >Notice that this way out of the scientism debate concedes that a value

    >lies at the bottom of scientismicists’  affection for science ... the

    >assuaging of REAL doubt.

    >

    >Therefore, I stipulate that anybody who embraces REAL doubt as a way of

    >life is NOT going to be happy with this solution.





    --

    glen



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