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GabrielDuquette comments on Smart non-reductionists, philosophical vs. engineering mindsets, and religion - Less Wrong Discussion

13 Post author: Kaj_Sotala 04 August 2012 10:48AM

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Tags: religion reductionism disagreement

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Comment author: [deleted] 04 August 2012 05:20:56PM *  3 points [-]

This seems like a fake argument to me. Have anyone actually met an engineer that thinks their abstractions are perfect? Doesn't awareness of that imperfection happen more often when your abstractions actually have to do something?

EDIT: If this leaves a bad taste in anyone else's mouth, Dan Meyer is doing a great series on the ladder of abstraction.

Comment author: Manfred 04 August 2012 05:46:25PM 2 points [-]

If he's legitimately arguing against reductionism, then by "abstractions," he means things like electrons.

Comment author: [deleted] 04 August 2012 05:54:35PM *  0 points [-]

How is doing that at all useful?

Comment author: Manfred 04 August 2012 06:09:36PM 1 point [-]

I see what you did there :P

Comment author: [deleted] 04 August 2012 06:12:48PM 1 point [-]

Heh, yeah, I'm all clever-like...

psst... what'd I do?

Comment author: Manfred 04 August 2012 07:18:40PM 3 points [-]

Somebody with an engineer's mindset will think that "yes, the abstractions we use might be imperfect, but what else do you propose we use? They're still the best tool for accomplishing stuff, and anything else is just philosophcial nonsense that isn't grounded in anything". Whereas the philosopher is less interested in using their knowledge to "accomplish stuff", and more interested in the ideas and their implications themselves.

:DD

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