Think about the last time you listened to a lecture. Asked later about the ideas presented by the lecturer, what would you answer? Would you quote the best, most truthful ideas presented in the lecture, or would you talk instead about whatever happened to have been communicated the most effectively or stuck with you for some other, perhaps more idiosyncratic reason? At least about myself I can say, and not without a feeling of shame, that I tend to share ideas that got stuck in my head … [Read more...]
What Is Truth?
Logically, truth is a property of sentences. For example, "snow is white" is true if and only if snow is white. All this requires is that we mean the same things by the words we speak and that snow actually is white when we look at it. But what about perceptual illusions? If a stick dipped in water looks bent, is it true that it is bent? No, it is true that is looks bent, but when we touch it at the seemingly bent spot or pull it out of the water, we find that, in fact, the stick is not … [Read more...]
Technical Vs. Sentimental Language
Could it be that every language game played by humans belongs to one of two basic types? Let's start exploring this idea by labeling the categories: Technical language is precise and scientific. As the language of facts, it requires coherence.Sentimental language is neither precise nor scientific. As the language of feelings, it requires valence. I reckon that much of human misunderstanding, including dissents on the nature of truth, stems from the confusion of these two kinds of language. … [Read more...]
Buddhism Debunked: Meditation Boosts the Ego
According to Hinduist and Buddhist philosophy, the ego is a major source of human suffering. Hence, Eastern mind-body practices like yoga and meditation are intended to quiet the ego, to deflate one's sense of self-importance, in order to improve well-being. Indeed, we know from a myriad of scientific studies that mindfulness practice factually improves well-being. But is this really due to a quieting of the ego? In a new study, Gebauer et al. (2018) conducted two experiments to investigate the … [Read more...]
How to Learn About Human Behavior
The Politics of Human Behavior The function of politics is to control human behavior. Since control requires some form of knowledge, all political decisions are rooted in some understanding of human behavior. But how can we understand human behavior and what kinds of knowledge do we want to dominate the political landscape? Four Ways to Learn About Human Behavior 1. Personal Experience We know about the specifics of human behavior because we behave as humans and interact with other humans … [Read more...]
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