[extropy-chat] Re: Robin Hanson on Cynicism

[mail at harveynewstrom.com]

Robin Hanson writes: 

> I posed the issue in terms of what should the cynic believe about himself,
> rather than how he should present himself to others.  But yes, the more
> that the cynic's targets know of his conundrum, the harder for him.  Not
> that the cynic's motives for criticizing should really matter than much 
> for
> whether the cynic's criticisms are accepted as true.  But alas for humans,
> it does matter a great deal.

I find both cynicism and optimism to be unscientific.  They both imply 
prejudice toward evaluating things good or bad based on motives rather than 
empirical evidence. 

True scientific method would apply equally to everybody.  Unlike the cynic's 
conundrum above, the true scientist gladly subjects themselves to the same 
scrutiny and standards that they subject others to.  Science has no such 
conundrum.  The more scientists are scrutinized using the same scientific 
method, the more they should pass with flying colors. 

 --
Harvey Newstrom <www.HarveyNewstrom.com>
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