While I can imagine hypotheses that would horrify me if they turned out to be true, I cannot think of an actual case of encountering strong evidence for such a hypothesis. Even for the examples I can think of, if they were in fact true I believe I would prefer to know the truth than to continue to believe the comforting falsehood. Can you give an example of a horrifying hypothesis that you would prefer not to know the truth of even if it was in fact true?
Can you give an example of a horrifying hypothesis that you would prefer not to know the truth of even if it was in fact true?
No; like you, I want to believe the truth. (Or at least, I want to want to believe the truth. If everyone who professed to seek truth wholeheartedly really did so, the world would be very different. I cannot claim to be wholeheartedly rational; I can only claim that I try, after my fashion.) There are theories that scare me that I do want to believe if and only if they are true—I’d rather not talk about them in this comment.
While I can imagine hypotheses that would horrify me if they turned out to be true, I cannot think of an actual case of encountering strong evidence for such a hypothesis. Even for the examples I can think of, if they were in fact true I believe I would prefer to know the truth than to continue to believe the comforting falsehood. Can you give an example of a horrifying hypothesis that you would prefer not to know the truth of even if it was in fact true?
No; like you, I want to believe the truth. (Or at least, I want to want to believe the truth. If everyone who professed to seek truth wholeheartedly really did so, the world would be very different. I cannot claim to be wholeheartedly rational; I can only claim that I try, after my fashion.) There are theories that scare me that I do want to believe if and only if they are true—I’d rather not talk about them in this comment.