Category: General Thinking

Posts about critical thinking, logic, cognitive biases, etc.

General Thinking, Social IssuesLeave a comment

The Legend of Ezekiel Bulver

ctgadsden

Here’s how the legend began: Ezekiel Bulver, at the tender age of five, once heard two people having a dispute. (I’ve modernized the story a bit.) The first person insisted that the sum of two sides of any triangle will always be greater than the length of the third side. The second person argued that the first person only believed that because he was a socialist. “At that moment”, Ezekiel Bulver assures us, “there flashed across my opening mind the great truth that refutation is no necessary part of argument. Assume that your opponent is wrong, and explain his error, … Continue reading The Legend of Ezekiel Bulver

General Thinking, Social IssuesLeave a comment

The Other Side Is Evil (Moralized Disagreements)

ctgadsden

Rarely do I come across something so closely aligned with my own goals in blogging that I use it in place of an original post. But this video is such a thing. In the context of the Kavanaugh hearings, Kyle Blanchette skillfully breaks down how we tend to view those who disagree with us as stupid or evil. This is NOT about which side is right, or even the reasons behind each side. It’s about how we judge those who disagree with us. Worth you time. Continue reading The Other Side Is Evil (Moralized Disagreements)

Apologetics, General Thinking3 Comments

Why Isn’t God More Obvious?

ctgadsden

Why isn’t God more obvious? This is a fair question. Large parts of the Bible evade our understanding. Many people lack any recognizable experience of God. If God wants everyone to believe in him, why doesn’t he have better marketing? This line of questioning attacks the coherence of the Christian worldview. God should provide more/better evidence, but God doesn’t . As a Christian, I have to acknowledge that this seems problematic. Here’s how I might represent the problem: (skeptics, tell me if you think I’m getting this wrong) If God simply wants more people to believe that he exists, then he … Continue reading Why Isn’t God More Obvious?

Apologetics, General Thinking, Religion, ScienceLeave a comment

Responsible Religious Belief Q&A

ctgadsden

This video records the Q&A after talk I gave to the University of Missouri SASHA club (Skeptics, Atheists, Secular Humanists, and Agnostics). The title was “Responsible Belief,” and I shared with them a model of how beliefs are formed and evaluated responsibly. That went about 30 min. Then, we had Q&A and everyone stayed. It was a wonderful conversation and one of the highlights of 2015 for me. At some point, I may post the original presentation. I’ve broken the 30 min of Q&A into 3 separate videos, and this is Part 1. If you’re interested in how a Christian … Continue reading Responsible Religious Belief Q&A

Apologetics, General ThinkingLeave a comment

Do Motives Cloud Judgment?

ctgadsden

Can our motives cloud our judgment? Yes. Without a doubt. (See this post and this post.) But does this mean we should always suspect our judgments and the judgments of others? That seems unreasonable. When I say that motives or psychological states can “cloud our judgment,” what I mean is (roughly) this–if we want something to be true, we tend to see the reasons for that view more favorably, and when we don’t want something to be true, we tend to see the reasons for that view less favorably. “More/less favorably” just means that the reasons appear to have more/less force … Continue reading Do Motives Cloud Judgment?

General Thinking, Social IssuesLeave a comment

When Speech Feels Like Violence

ctgadsden

Speech sometimes offends, even injures, our sensibilities. Alex Jones and the decisions of Apple and Facebook to remove his content illustrate this. But there are at least two ways speech can “hurt” us. Some hurtful speech stabs to the core of our self and our sense of dignity as a human being. Other times, speech threatens us because our inadequate cognitive defenses and filters fail to protect our psyche. I want to address the second kind of scenario because it is more “up to us” than the first kind. Epistemic Immune System My father endured numerous chemotherapy treatments during his battle … Continue reading When Speech Feels Like Violence

General ThinkingLeave a comment

You Too!

ctgadsden

Since I know very little about political issues and immigration, I tend to stay out of debates. But what I do know is good debate. So, I won’t often weigh in on one side, but I will comment on the quality of the arguments. In the recent brew-ha-ha over separating children from parents at the border, people used whatever tactics they could to “win the argument.” But there was quite a bit of “tu quoque” (Latin for “you too”) going on. Using this tactic doesn’t get us any closer to knowing what’s true or right. “You too” happens when side … Continue reading You Too!