Grif comments on Rationality Quotes December 2014 - Less Wrong

8 Post author: Salemicus 03 December 2014 10:33PM

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Comment author: Robin 07 December 2014 11:55:40PM *  11 points [-]

"As a human being, you have no choice about the fact that you need a philosophy. Your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought and scrupulously logical deliberation—or let your subconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy and fused into a single, solid weight: self-doubt, like a ball and chain in the place where your mind’s wings should have grown."

Ayn Rand

Comment author: Grif 19 December 2014 01:39:44AM -2 points [-]

You lost me at "junk heap." There is no conscious choice available to a layperson ignorant of philosophy and logic, and such ways of life are perfectly copacetic with small-enough communities. If anything, it is the careful thinker who is more shackled by self-doubt, better understood as the Dunning-Kruger effect, but Ayn Rand has made it obvious she never picked up any primary literature on cognitive science so it's not surprising to see her confusion here.

Quote from 1971's The Romantic Manifesto.

Comment author: Robin 19 December 2014 01:26:10PM 1 point [-]

You lost me at "junk heap."

Sorry you're so averse to negative descriptions of the average person's philosophy.

There is no conscious choice available to a layperson ignorant of philosophy and logic

Yes there is, they can choose what music, TV, movies, videos etc to buy/view/play.

and such ways of life are perfectly copacetic with small-enough communities

Do you mean communities where the leader knows about philosophy and can order people around?

If anything, it is the careful thinker who is more shackled by self-doubt

It's reasonable to doubt certain things, but if learning increases your self doubt than you're doing it wrong.

better understood as the Dunning-Kruger effect, but Ayn Rand has made it obvious she never picked up any primary literature on cognitive science

She was associated with Nathaniel Branden, a well regarded psychologist. Cognitive Science is a relatively new field.

so it's not surprising to see her confusion here.

I don't think she's confused, she's saying something you disagree with. If you think you've refuted it, I think you're the confused one.