Constant comments on Less Wrong Rationality and Mainstream Philosophy - Less Wrong

106 Post author: lukeprog 20 March 2011 08:28PM

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Comment author: David_Gerard 21 March 2011 01:37:41PM *  8 points [-]

Personally, I'm finding that avoiding anthropomorphising humans, i.e. ignoring the noises coming out of their mouths in favour of watching their actions, pays off quite well, particularly when applied to myself ;-) I call this the "lump of lard with buttons to push" theory of human motivation. Certainly if my mind had much effect on my behaviour, I'd expect to see more evidence than I do ...

Comment author: [deleted] 22 March 2011 08:53:39PM 2 points [-]

It sounds like what you are describing is rationalization, either doing it yourself or accepting people's rationalization about themselves.

Comment author: David_Gerard 22 March 2011 09:17:42PM -1 points [-]

Pretty much. I'm saying "mind" for effect, and because people think the bit that says "I" has much more effect than it appears to from observed behaviour.