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owlthatissuperb OP t1_itrgagw wrote

Reply to comment by iiioiia in Artificial Suffering and the Hard Problem of Consciousness by owlthatissuperb

> Are the conclusions epistemically sound? > Has a competent epistemic analysis of the various claims even been done? [As an aside: does it not seem more than a little strange to you that among all The Experts that guide us, nowhere are (genuine) philosophers to be found, particularly those who specialize in logic and epistemology?]

Have we done any analysis on our process for determining who is an expert on epistemology? Have we done analysis on that analysis?

It's epistemics all the way down!

(You might enjoy the short story No Particular Night or Morning by Ray Bradbury.)

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iiioiia t1_itrhje2 wrote

> Have we done any analysis on our process for determining who is an expert on epistemology? Have we done analysis on that analysis?

Not that I know of!

See how bad of a spot we're in? And yet: no one does anything.

> > > > It's epistemics all the way down!

True...but this does not mean the problem is intractible, or the state of affairs cannot be improved upon immensely. On an absolute scale, we have no idea where we currently sit - in fact, what knowledge we do have indicates that things are very, very bad.

> > > > (You might enjoy the short story No Particular Night or Morning by Ray Bradbury.)

Ah, thank you , will check it out!

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iiioiia t1_itrjhfq wrote

https://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/illustrated_man_bradbury/Illustrated_Man_Study_Guide15.html

> On a rocket hurtling through outer space, Hitchcock and Clemens discuss Earth. Hitchcock no longer believes there is such thing as an Earth, and whatever evidence Clemens cites - dreams, memories, the sun - are dismissed as not being good enough. Hitchcock has determined to be practical and rely only on the evidence immediately available to him. Clemens ignores him and basks in his memories. Hitchcock warns that wallowing in memories will only hurt and he won't be hungry for lunch; later, he is correct and reminds Clemens of his prediction. Hitchcock then questions whether or not the stars are real, since no one has ever touched one.

Not to be pedantic, but both of these characters are shitty at logic & epistemology.

Humans seem unable to reliably distinguish between belief and knowledge, often including philosophers who have substantial academic knowledge (I know this from going to tons of philosophy meetups). It is a sad state of affairs....but then also: an extremely beneficial point to be starting from!

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