Re: The truth of evolution

On 13 Feb, 09:09, Dave Smith <da...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 12 Feb, 22:17, Dave Smith <da...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



On 12 Feb, 11:00, Paul Grieg <pgr...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 11 Feb, 20:40, Dave Smith <da...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On the one hand, I believe there is an actual, objective, ' true'
state of affairs.  

What are your grounds for that belief?

An external world is indicated by experience. ( Ayer has discussed the
construction of the physical world in his book 'The Central Questions
of Philosophy'. )

Does agreement require that there be an absolute objective truth 'out
there'?

Interpersonal agreement requires beliefs, and beliefs are intentional
-- they are necessarily about something and claim a certain state of
affairs.

Creationism aids understanding. 'The earth was created 4000 years ago'
is an explanation that a child can understand. So creationism 'works'..

An explanation that doesn't aid understanding may be understood.

Sorry about the two replies  --  I thought the first had been lost in
virtual space, so submitted a second.  It has since occurred to me
that there can be agreement about the content of beliefs, as well as
agreement about their truthfulness.  It might be established that you
and I agree that fairies wear red shoes, without considering whether
such an idea corresponds to reality.  Anthropologists may simply want
to describe the content of beliefs and how they shape behaviour,
without worrying about their truth value.  ( I think Rorty adopts this
type of approach? )

Rorty doesn't believe there is any absolute truth. So he doesn't
believe there are any quarks "out there". It's just that the quark
hypothesis "works" in a pragmatic way.

Why wouldn't anthropologists act in any other way than you describe!

Rorty's a pragmatist so I doubt he would adopt the fairy shoe
hypothesis -- it's unlikely to make him or anyone else happier (he's
more concerned about happiness than truth -- something works = it
increases the sum of happiness. That's what counts.)

If the fairy shoe tribe are a happy bunch then why would
anthropologists 'put them straight'?

Do you tell toddlers that Santa Claus does not exist? I don't because
I don't like making children cry! Happiness trumps truth.

.

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