Re: The foundation of reason

Dan Fabulich (daniel.fabulich@yale.edu)
Fri, 05 Mar 1999 09:42:53 -0500

At 08:06 AM 3/5/99 -0600, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
>Why are you asking a *pragmatist* for *proof*?

Your subject line? Your introduction?

You wrote:
Max More wrote:
>> Point: Reason is without foundation. (See Bartley's book or my version in
>> the Pancritical Rationalism essay.) Does that destroy rationalism?

>Reason WAS without foundation. Excerpt from a forthcoming work:

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This sounds to me like you're going to do more than provide AN argument for reason, but a FOUNDATIONAL argument for reason. Did I misunderstand your project?

>The argument in favor of logic and reason is by no means certain, but it
>is better than anything else. If you try to deny all arguments as
>invalid, you wind up with a theory that provides no useful advice, and
>thus - however probable - cancels out of decision making. That's all
>anyone has to argue.

Anyway, this isn't even true. Why can't I accept some non-rational or even irrational claim about how I should live my life? Why not live by instinct alone, adopt a Zen philosophy, and reject logic altogether?

-Dan

     -IF THE END DOESN'T JUSTIFY THE MEANS-
               -THEN WHAT DOES-