On My Use Of Terms
[I] don’t like to just ‘point’ to my glossary entries every time I use some term. I’d rather defend each term in context – it’s like physical fitness. I get better at my arguments with every ‘set of reps’. In a perfect world, every time a use a term, FB would link to it in…
"All Religions Need A Book"
[A]ll religions need a ‘book’. I have been working under that premise for over a decade. Once you have a book, philosophy doesn’t float. You have an authoritarian position to refer to. Debate over that position creates invention in the minds of those who are interested. If the book is very good, then the results…
“All Religions Need A Book”
[A]ll religions need a ‘book’. I have been working under that premise for over a decade. Once you have a book, philosophy doesn’t float. You have an authoritarian position to refer to. Debate over that position creates invention in the minds of those who are interested. If the book is very good, then the results…
The Enlightenment Aristocracy Of Everybody Vs The Dark Enlightenment Aristocracy Of The Willing
(important piece) [T]he intention of the anglo enlightenment was to create an aristocracy of everyone, by granting aristocratic property rights and obligations to everyone. The program succeeded as long as there were members of the non-aristocratic classes, that observed aristocratic traditions. But with first the introduction of the catholic non-aristocratic classes, and then women, and…
Propertarianism And Aristocratic Egalitarianism
(important piece) [P]ropertarianism is an ethical model for use in self government. Under Propertarianism I do not advocate a form of self government, other than an independent judiciary under the common law and under a constitution enumerating propertarian ethics – as such I advocate only rights that must be observed by ANY form of self…
Reforming Libertarianism Is Pretty Simple Really
—“I think it’s pretty simple: the NAP has proven to be demonstrably insufficient to use as the basis of the common law, because it preserves and licenses immoral and unethical behavior, which impose high transaction costs on in-group members. As such, no such polity is possible, and that is evidenced by the fact that no…
Truth Claims Carry The Burden Of Construction
If one makes truth claims, one carries the burden of demonstration. And, unfortunately, language is a terribly convenient tool for engaging in both deception and self deception. So to prohibit deception as well as self-deception, we must rely on a demonstration of knowledge of construction of terms, not just a knowledge of the use of…
Repositioning Hoppe
“The failures of Praxeology, Rothbardian Ethics, and Argumentation to withstand rational and scientific criticism do not diminish Hoppe’s solutions to the problems of democracy, monopoly bureaucracy, and the private production of public goods.” Cheers. COMMENTS Michael Pattinson likes this. Ayelam Valentine Agaliba Quite true. The problem of course is that Hoppe purports to derive his…
Extending Kahneman: "System 0" Is Property.
(interesting)(important piece) [O]ur logical capacity extends to the limits defined by the flight of an arrow. For more complex multi-dimensional relations we resort to the cartesian representations. And if the problem is more complicated than that, then our reason, and ability to envision causal relations, is terribly frail. And if I am correct (and it…
Extending Kahneman: “System 0” Is Property.
(interesting)(important piece) [O]ur logical capacity extends to the limits defined by the flight of an arrow. For more complex multi-dimensional relations we resort to the cartesian representations. And if the problem is more complicated than that, then our reason, and ability to envision causal relations, is terribly frail. And if I am correct (and it…
Synonyms Across Disciplines: Free Riding, Involuntary Transfer, Discounting, Theft – But Morally It's All Just 'theft'
[M]urder, violence, destruction, theft by physical appropriation, theft by fraud, theft by fraud using omission, free riding, privatization of commons, socialization of losses, conspiracy, invasion, conquest – all deprive others of that which they have acted to obtain an interest in, against their will. ie: theft – the taking of that which is not obtained…
Synonyms Across Disciplines: Free Riding, Involuntary Transfer, Discounting, Theft – But Morally It’s All Just ‘theft’
[M]urder, violence, destruction, theft by physical appropriation, theft by fraud, theft by fraud using omission, free riding, privatization of commons, socialization of losses, conspiracy, invasion, conquest – all deprive others of that which they have acted to obtain an interest in, against their will. ie: theft – the taking of that which is not obtained…
Libertarian Moral-spectrum Blindness
[Y]ou can’t reason with a libertarian who relies upon moral intuition any more than you can reason with a progressive who relies upon moral intuition. So, it’s pretty clear to me today, that libertarians are as morally blind (or in Haidt’s terms ‘tasteless’) as progressives are (albeit at a different part of the spectrum), and…
Unfortunately, Pseudoscientific Language Is Really Useful.
[T]he question is whether “truth” in the context of Critical Rationalism is an analogy or not. I posit that it’s analogistic language just like nearly all uses of ‘truth’. The only action that can exist is attestation. And nothing can be said to be ‘true’ independent of someone’s cognition. I’m trying to eliminate pseudoscientific language.…
We Are Morally Blind, Limited In Our Perceptions And Memory, And Severely In Our Reason. The Last Thing We Should Do Is Construct Large Risk-prone Intentionally Managed States.
[I] have to accept the evidence, but I do not like it. I would like very much to believe that we grasp the world as it is. And it appears that, at least with the help of instrumentalism (logic and science), we can grasp the physical world with a high degree of accuracy – at…
The Crime Of Statism : Conspiracy
[I] disagree vehemently with Walter Block on ethics, but I agree with his proposition that Statism should be criminalized. Under Propertarianism it’s the crime of conspiracy. And can be brought to justice by any citizen against any other.
Transnational Insurgencies : "Save For Future Use"
[A]ristocratic Egalitarianism, in which we obtain property rights in exchange with others, to whom we grant them, under the agreement that we will defend each other’s rights, can or cannot know boundaries. I cannot understand how it can consider boundaries. It should be just as easy for a dedicated minority of insurgents to influence western…
Transnational Insurgencies : “Save For Future Use”
[A]ristocratic Egalitarianism, in which we obtain property rights in exchange with others, to whom we grant them, under the agreement that we will defend each other’s rights, can or cannot know boundaries. I cannot understand how it can consider boundaries. It should be just as easy for a dedicated minority of insurgents to influence western…
Argument, Moral Blindness, and Institutions
[I] can tell your moral code and political preference by the method you use to argue, as much as I can the moral bias of your arguments. And I’m still surprised at myself, despite knowing that (other than conservatives) people are morally blind, I try to reason with people. Now the fact is, that I…
On English As The Language Of Ethics
(cross posted for archival purposes) [E]nglish is a very precise and technical language. Probably the most empirically framed language we have. As such it’s burdensome. The verb “to-be” problem (the problem of ‘is’, and solved with E’) evolved and exists largely as an operational simplifier in an already burdensome language. Secondly it’s an emotionally unloaded…
Stakes In The Heart of Rothbardian Vampires
(status) (against walking-dead libertarianism) [O]K. So praxeology is dead. I’m done with that. Rothbardian ethics and the NAP are dead. I’m done with that. Intersubjectively verifiable private property as insufficient is done. Although I have a long post I’m almost done with on it. I’m pretty much there on performative truth (testimony). The scientific method…
Categories of Knowledge: Improving on Mokyr
Wondering…. Hmmm. I don’t like Mokyr’s categories of knowledge. I tend to state them as “knowledge of construction” and “knowledge of use”. Now he’s been trying to talk about the knowledge economy, so only usable knowledge is meaningful to him. But I think this is the correct expanded hierarchy. 0) Knowledge of identity. (we are…
Q: "Curt, Why Is Praxeology A Pseudoscience And Therefore False?"
A: For a host of reasons: 1) The different properties of axiomatic (proof) vs theoretic (truth) systems. Axiomatic systems are not bounded by correspondence with reality, and theoretic systems are not bounded by our understanding of causes. The reason that we can describe the physical universe with mathematics is not only that the universe consists…
Q: “Curt, Why Is Praxeology A Pseudoscience And Therefore False?”
A: For a host of reasons: 1) The different properties of axiomatic (proof) vs theoretic (truth) systems. Axiomatic systems are not bounded by correspondence with reality, and theoretic systems are not bounded by our understanding of causes. The reason that we can describe the physical universe with mathematics is not only that the universe consists…
I Didn't Realize The Power of My Argument Against Libertarian Perception Of Reality
[B]ut that’s the final nail in the coffin of praxeology. If we are morally blind (and science says that we are) for the reasons that I’ve stated (genetics, reproductive strategy, discounting of the dependence upon others for information and opinion, and higher intelligence discounting of transaction costs) then that which is possible to apprehend in…