Great post. I once had a professor argue that it's false that group differences in intelligence exist. His argument? He said that some white people are smart and some white people aren't smart; some black people are smart and some black people aren't smart. Smart and not smart exists in all races, so no one race is smarter than another. This was a philosophy professor no less.
When it comes to certain topics like race and gender, people's brains stop functioning. I know a lot of truths regarding race and gender, many of which strike me as totally obvious, but I know they'd be met with heavy resistance and backlash, so I'm careful when I talk about these topics.
“Opposition to stereotyping in general is incoherent, unless you want to oppose learning. The idea that it is bad in general to form generalizations about groups is on its face crazy. Nor is there anything objectively offensive about recognizing group differences. Being “offended” by the recognition of patterns in the world is not really something that a serious, adult thinker does.”
Your post reminds me of someone who formerly commented on Professor Wolff's website who expresses his strong opinions against Israel in an email chain, one that I am a recipient. His message is Israel is bad and that he is Jewish and he has a moral distaste for Israel, Jews ought to disidentify with Israel (though he says this with less eloquence and articulation) It's pointless to engage with him because these people on the left (but not all I'd gather) would answer to my point that Israel was viciously attacked and to use a Biblical phrase, their hearts have hardened, by simply saying, not that I am wrong but that I'm bad. They don't say you are wrong when you argue but you are bad, which is far from modus ponens or any logical argument and is made for sociological, that is emotional, reasons
The irony is that those people are the truly immoral ones. What I think is bad is lying about matters of public import, just so one can maintain one's own self-image and political faction affiliation.
Great post. I once had a professor argue that it's false that group differences in intelligence exist. His argument? He said that some white people are smart and some white people aren't smart; some black people are smart and some black people aren't smart. Smart and not smart exists in all races, so no one race is smarter than another. This was a philosophy professor no less.
When it comes to certain topics like race and gender, people's brains stop functioning. I know a lot of truths regarding race and gender, many of which strike me as totally obvious, but I know they'd be met with heavy resistance and backlash, so I'm careful when I talk about these topics.
“Opposition to stereotyping in general is incoherent, unless you want to oppose learning. The idea that it is bad in general to form generalizations about groups is on its face crazy. Nor is there anything objectively offensive about recognizing group differences. Being “offended” by the recognition of patterns in the world is not really something that a serious, adult thinker does.”
Well said and still true.
Your post reminds me of someone who formerly commented on Professor Wolff's website who expresses his strong opinions against Israel in an email chain, one that I am a recipient. His message is Israel is bad and that he is Jewish and he has a moral distaste for Israel, Jews ought to disidentify with Israel (though he says this with less eloquence and articulation) It's pointless to engage with him because these people on the left (but not all I'd gather) would answer to my point that Israel was viciously attacked and to use a Biblical phrase, their hearts have hardened, by simply saying, not that I am wrong but that I'm bad. They don't say you are wrong when you argue but you are bad, which is far from modus ponens or any logical argument and is made for sociological, that is emotional, reasons
The irony is that those people are the truly immoral ones. What I think is bad is lying about matters of public import, just so one can maintain one's own self-image and political faction affiliation.
I asked a bunch AI if it was inherently racist to believe that it was possible that she hereditarian view could be correct.
They all said it wasn’t, but they said it would be wrong to do more research on it iirc.
Spooky.