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David_Gerard comments on A Kick in the Rationals: What hurts you in your LessWrong Parts? - Less Wrong Discussion

24 Post author: sixes_and_sevens 25 April 2012 12:12PM

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Comment author: David_Gerard 26 April 2012 04:52:38PM 3 points [-]

An attempt to find the worst argument in the world.

Comment author: arundelo 28 April 2012 03:14:45AM *  0 points [-]

This reminded me of Ayn Rand on Immanual Kant:

[H]is argument amounted to a negation, not only of man's consciousness, but of any consciousness, of consciousness as such. His argument, in essence, ran as follows: man is limited to a consciousness of a specific nature, which perceives by specific means and no others, therefore, his consciousness is not valid; man is blind, because he has eyes -- deaf, because he has ears -- deluded, because he has a mind -- and the things he perceives do not exist, because he perceives them.

The article you linked does mention Kant, though apparently Stove was easier on him than Rand was:

Talk of 'forms of perception', and 'things in themselves' may suggest Kant, but it is not clear that Kant was imposed on by a 'Worst Argument'. Stove does pin a few small Gems on him (Stove, 1991, 160), but they are not central to his argument.

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