realist-rationalist quad

From: Mark Mills (mmills@htcomp.net)
Date: Tue Feb 13 2001 - 18:51:20 GMT

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Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 12:51:20 -0600
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From: Mark Mills <mmills@htcomp.net>
Subject: realist-rationalist quad
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    I've been pondering the idea of a 'realism' - 'rationalism' quad, something
    along the lines of:

    Maybe there needs to be a different explanation of memetics for each quadrant.

    anti-realist and anti-rational: anarchist, nihilist (nothing matters,
    nothing makes sense, but don't hold me to that)
    anti-realist and rationalist:: pure rationalist-economists, sociologists,
    artists (culture is too complex to test, but I have an idea)
    realist and anti-rationalist:: pure realist-scientists (ideas come and go,
    but repeatable experiments never change)
    realist and rationalist:: idealist? (an impossible mix?) (drug addicts-I
    know what I need and I know how to get it)
    neutral realist and neutral rationist: engineer? (useful folks, but
    intellectual prostitutes)

    definitions:
    Realist: there is a reality. Our senses give us an incomplete picture.
    Evolution has provided humans with cognitive tools for getting a sense of
    reality, but it just one 'perspective' of many possible.

    Rationalist: We have the mental tools to understand the world. Our
    cognitive powers enable us to rationally discern reality, something our
    senses only confuse.

    Wondered if anyone here was interested in improving my scheme, definitions
    or quadrant labels.

    Mark

    http://www.htcomp.net/markmills

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