Monday, June 08, 2009
Do Rationalists Kill More?
Subsequent to posting this, I found myself wondering who are more responsible for more deaths, empiricists or rationalists? I'm inclined to think the latter - communists etc - but I am open to correction.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
rationally, yes or no. empirically, 50-50.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the rationalists win hands-down, certainly from the 20th Century.
ReplyDeleteBut quite often the empiricists sell weapons to the rationalists, which they use to kill each other.
Descartes was well-known for his killing sprees, so that might suggest the rationalists. However, Fred West's empirical skills with patios and Osama's technology BSc, suggest that it's the empiricists we should be wagging our ditigal digits at.
ReplyDeleteThey both kill a lot, but the rationalists seems to have a harder time stopping. I suppose if you have rationalized starting killing it takes more effort to rationalize stopping.
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget the irrationalists -- those commanded to kill by voices, visions, and sacred texts. Rationalists, empiricists, irrationalists-- they've all run the charnel house. But each requires the leadership of a malignant narcissist to really get the killing juices flowing.
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