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buybuydandavis comments on "Dialectics"? - Less Wrong Discussion

1 Post author: CyrilDan 12 July 2014 06:34AM

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Comment author: buybuydandavis 13 July 2014 10:14:36PM 1 point [-]

As far as terms with bad semantic hygiene "dialectics" seems to be a prime example and that might motivate us also to avoid using it.

The OP was specifically asking about "dialectics" and Sciabarra's use of it.

Also, it's a fundamental concept in Hegelianism and it's offshoots, so you shouldn't try to avoid it there either.

But I agree with you in general. I find it a much overused and inconsistently used term, much like irony and paradox, and often used to shovel crap.

I think the core idea is quite obvious if one has a good grasp on what a conceptual system happens to be.

Well yeah, but I find that quite a big IF, don't you?

The more complicated question would be in what sense the existing systems have truth that could be preserved.

Which would depend on the particulars of the existing systems in question.

Comment author: ChristianKl 14 July 2014 01:32:42PM 0 points [-]

The OP was specifically asking about "dialectics" and Sciabarra's use of it.

He was also asking about why we don't use it on LW and whether maybe we should use it if it's a potent thinking tool.

Well yeah, but I find that quite a big IF, don't you?

But if not, I don't think talking about dialectics has any use either. It will just seem like magic.

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