073 Two arguments made by people who don't understand epistemology
073 Two arguments made by people who don't understand epistemology
"Because it has always been done that way" and "Because I say so"
“Because it has always been done that way.”
The fact that something has always been done a certain way does not necessarily mean that it is the best way to do it. There can always be a better one.
Moreover, an appeal to tradition does not explain why we should choose a certain way. It talks nothing about the “way”, only about what worked in the past (which isn’t always right).
Extrapolating a given outcome without an explanation is a pure epistemological fallacy. Just because all you’ve ever seen are swans that are white, does not mean black swans do not exist.
This kind of thinking limits innovation and criticism to obviously faulty “ways” things are done.
“Because I say so.”
Often used to keep children in control, this phrase seeks to justify claims by appealing to authority (or who the claim is claimed by) not to the claims themselves.
This relies on an unreasonable assumption which is of the infallibility of authority.
With those four words you’re unwittingly instantiating in the child a longing to seek justification from authority, not reality.
Conclusion
Sources don’t matter. Ideas do. We should not suppress criticism to certain ideas by establishing their apparent infallibility. People can be wrong, authorities can be wrong, whole traditions can be wrong.
This view isn’t of downright skepticism. It is of the process of the growth of knowledge by criticizing existing theories of how the world works with better ones.
The Amazing Things & Ideas List
1. Why Did the Wright Brothers Succeed When Others Failed? The story of two high school dropouts who did “the impossible” and how they were raised to have an insatiable intellectual curiosity.
2. If you want to build wealth, here’s Why You Should Expose Yourself To Positive “Black Swan” Events.
3. Lessons and realization:
4. Elon Musk’s six productive rules for business presented by Casey
New Podcast Episode
#10 – Andrew Kirby: Hitting Financial Freedom At Age 22, Solving Problems and Happiness
Andrew Kirby is a YouTuber with over 600,000 subscribers who became financially free at age 22 by synthesizing content on the Internet.
We talk about:
attaining financial freedom at age 22;
how to write good cold DMs;
entrepreneurship and solving problems;
The Beginning of Infinity and books that most influenced Andrew;
the pursuit of creation, happiness and much more!
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
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Arjun