Thanks for the link, Magpie. Most thought provoking, and well written indeed.
Glad I've finally been introduced to the phrase "false binary". I'd understood the concept for a while now without knowledge of that term - things are gonnna be easier to explain now.
Another logical fallacy I'm rather fond of is that of "over- determinism". That's the one where you're SURE that there's ONE chief cause behind any given issue, controvery or event. The mistake is in not allowing that many, if not most, things arise out of a series of causes, some unrelated to one another except that they impact the same thing. Unfortunately overdetermined causes usally precede overdetermined (and ususally distoreted) solutions because they fail to account for all the causes. Any overdetermined solutions which follow are doomed to failure due to being even FURTHER divorced from reality than the causes are.
Take the issue of being overweight as an example. While it may be technically correct to contend that Americans are overweight because we lead lifestyles that are too sedentary, it is a stretch to say that all Americans have to do is excercise and they will become fit and return to normal weight. Really? Does the "solution" take into account the following elements, which may exist with or without a regular excercise program: thyroid or other hormone imbalances, prescription drug side effects, unhelpful food additives or drug interactions, genetics, the prevalence of junk and/or fast food and simply the total calorie imput that any consumer consumes? Once we look at those, NOW do we think it's just all about excercise?
Overdetermined opinions make it seem like conspiracy is afoot. And sometimes they're gonna be right. But too often sloppy debate seems as much to be a resultof an inappropriate and doomed impulse to simplify life by the complexity phobic than to any preponderance of fact or conviction or wisdom.
And I just LOVED these next lines...
Let’s say your kid has a bad teacher at school.
If you’re middle class, you have a sense of entitlement that your tax dollars paid for that school, and damn it, you’re going to get your money’s worth from it. That teacher ...is not teaching your kid what he or she needs to know, and Mrs. Jones down the street told you the other day that she requested a transfer to get little Suzy out of that class, so you decide to make an appointment to talk to the principal on Tuesday.
If you’re middle class, you have a sense of entitlement that your tax dollars paid for that school, and damn it, you’re going to get your money’s worth from it. That teacher ... is a loon ...not teaching your kid what he or she needs to know, and Mrs. Jones down the street told you the other day that she requested a transfer to get Suzy out of that class, so you decide to make an appointment....
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Date: 2005-09-07 03:37 am (UTC)Glad I've finally been introduced to the phrase "false binary". I'd understood the concept for a while now without knowledge of that term - things are gonnna be easier to explain now.
Another logical fallacy I'm rather fond of is that of "over- determinism". That's the one where you're SURE that there's ONE chief cause behind any given issue, controvery or event. The mistake is in not allowing that many, if not most, things arise out of a series of causes, some unrelated to one another except that they impact the same thing. Unfortunately overdetermined causes usally precede overdetermined (and ususally distoreted) solutions because they fail to account for all the causes. Any overdetermined solutions which follow are doomed to failure due to being even FURTHER divorced from reality than the causes are.
Take the issue of being overweight as an example. While it may be technically correct to contend that Americans are overweight because we lead lifestyles that are too sedentary, it is a stretch to say that all Americans have to do is excercise and they will become fit and return to normal weight. Really? Does the "solution" take into account the following elements, which may exist with or without a regular excercise program: thyroid or other hormone imbalances, prescription drug side effects, unhelpful food additives or drug interactions, genetics, the prevalence of junk and/or fast food and simply the total calorie imput that any consumer consumes? Once we look at those, NOW do we think it's just all about excercise?
Overdetermined opinions make it seem like conspiracy is afoot. And sometimes they're gonna be right. But too often sloppy debate seems as much to be a resultof an inappropriate and doomed impulse to simplify life by the complexity phobic than to any preponderance of fact or conviction or wisdom.
And I just LOVED these next lines...
Let’s say your kid has a bad teacher at school.
If you’re middle class, you have a sense of entitlement that your tax dollars paid for that school, and damn it, you’re going to get your money’s worth from it. That teacher ...is not teaching your kid what he or she needs to know, and Mrs. Jones down the street told you the other day that she requested a transfer to get little Suzy out of that class, so you decide to make an appointment to talk to the principal on Tuesday.
If you’re middle class, you have a sense of entitlement that your tax dollars paid for that school, and damn it, you’re going to get your money’s worth from it. That teacher ... is a loon ...not teaching your kid what he or she needs to know, and Mrs. Jones down the street told you the other day that she requested a transfer to get Suzy out of that class, so you decide to make an appointment....
So true....