Link: Edge: THE WORLD QUESTION CENTER 2011: “What Scientific Concept Would Improve Everybody’s Cognitive Toolkit? (edge.org)

[InquilineKea]

http://​​www.edge.org/​​q2011/​​q11_1.html

It just got out. I’ve read this series for 5 years by now, and I’ve noticed many interesting quotes about rationality on that site. Feel free to post the ones you liked the most in this thread. :)

[Dreaded_Anomaly]

I’m a fan of Sean Carroll’s contribution.

Excerpt:

Things happen because the laws of nature say they will — because they are the consequences of the state of the universe and the path of its evolution. Life on Earth doesn’t arise in fulfillment of a grand scheme, but rather as a byproduct of the increase of entropy in an environment very far from equilibrium. Our impressive brains don’t develop because life is guided toward greater levels of complexity and intelligence, but from the mechanical interactions between genes, organisms, and their surroundings.

None of which is to say that life is devoid of purpose and meaning. Only that these are things we create, not things we discover out there in the fundamental architecture of the world. The world keeps happening, in accordance with its rules; it’s up to us to make sense of it and give it value.

Edit to add: Sean’s blog post on the subject, entitled Dysteleological Physicalism.