[ExI] Cosmopolitanism, collective epistemology and other issues

[William Flynn Wallace]

Thanks Dave.

David Brin suggested that the unique aspect of Western culture was not just
fascination by other cultures (that can be found elsewhere) but a deeply
ingrained idea that other cultures might have figured out things we
haven't, might have better solutions we ought to pick up on, or that we
need to reinvent ourselves to avoid being bad.  anders

Speaking only for the USA, yes, we are fascinated by other cultures and
often, very often, we assume that they are better than we are at certain
things.  Culture is one of them.  All you have to do is put your ad or
product name in French and it sells to us ignorant natives.  We think
that's exotic.  And not only the French.  Does any other culture think of
us as exotic?  We have covered the world with pop music and movies.  Maybe
we're just cool.  Not a bad thing to lead the world in.

I don't know that Anders is correct re science and technology, or form of
government.  I think we think that we have the best there.  I also very
much doubt that most of us feel inferior in the moral department (being
bad).  But we are, I think, the most open culture you can find.  You world
travelers can contradict that maybe.  Maybe we feel inferior in haute
couture (note language used by us here).  Not so much fashion, but
classical music and art and philosophy.  The European tradition there is
powerful.

Bottom line:  I don't think Brin is mostly correct and I'd like to read
more about what he says, or how Anders thinks about it.

bill w

On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 6:41 AM, Dave Sill <sparge at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 3:36 AM, Anders Sandberg <anders at aleph.se> wrote:
>
>> On 2016-07-14 17:17, William Flynn Wallace wrote:
>>
>> Douhat is ...
>>
>> I don't think Doutat ...
>>
>
> OK, enough, guys, it's Douthat. :-)
>
> -Dave
>
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