All this is just a way of asking, what more-or-less technical aspect in philosophy shows up in your personal life? — Manuel
When someone asks me a question along the lines of "are you sure?" or "are you certain?" I very rarely say "yes". I always reply by saying "I think this is what I saw" or "it's likely", but I cannot for the life of me say "I'm certain" or "I'm sure". — Manuel
I think you misunderstand what I wrote. I find that people doubt too easily, they are overly suspicious rather than genuinely skeptical. Doubt – skepsis – requires grounds (Witty, Sextus Empiricus) otherwise it's idle (as Peirce says "paper doubt"); without grounds to doubt, tacit belief suffices. I'm only "dismissive" of the unwarranted (Hitchen's Razor).But what about the grounds of doubt quirk? You tend to be dismissive or skeptical automatically? — Manuel
without grounds to doubt, tacit belief suffices — 180 Proof
Similar to your example, I get frustrated when people ask for a definitive yes or no answer to something I’m not sufficiently confident about, and won’t just take a statement of the reasons I’m aware of for and against it. I don’t want to have to say to someone else that something definitely is or isn’t the case when I don’t even think to myself that it is. — Pfhorrest
I'm retired now, but I worked as an engineer for 30 years. In that job, the most important decisions I had to make hinged on what I knew, how I knew it, how certain I was, and what would be the consequences if I were wrong. So, I take epistemology very seriously. It's hard to tell which came first, my interest in knowledge or my decision to become an engineer. — T Clark
Zizek's comments on disavowal. — fdrake
All this is just a way of asking, what more-or-less technical aspect in philosophy shows up in your personal life? — Manuel
I have taken an interest recently in people who hold to atheism with almost zero knowledge of the arguments or understanding of science and epistemology. They are what I call 'practical atheists' they think anything to do with the supernatural (problematic word, I know) is bullshit and so a godless, materialist universe suits their outlook. — Tom Storm
You live in more 'civilized' parts than i do. Religious belief is the aesthetics of custom around these parts (US southeast). No matter how fashionable youtube & Dawkins have made it, "atheism" is still rejected outright, I observe, as an aestheic reflex rather than for reasoned objections. "Something is up there, I feel it. This life isn't all there is." That's the usual ... and the occasional old timey "If you believe in nothing, then you'll fall for anything." Mindless anti-atheism. I suppose this says more about people than about either 'believing' or 'unbelieving'. — 180 Proof
Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.