One big objection I have to the Chesterton’s Fence argument is that it makes it much easier to remove a barrier if is a rational and obvious reason exists for that barrier (if we consider that reason to be too weak to justify it) then if the reasons for the barrier were completely irrational and therefore basically incomprehensible to us.
We may not be able to figure out why certain ancient religions required male circumcision in all cases, but the fact that we can’t figure out why that’s a rule shouldn’t be a reason for us to continue to follow that rule.
Actually, there’s a good reason why: because a religion having rituals for group membership that require commitment (including commitment on the part of parents) survive better than religions that don’t.
Sure, that’s a plausible explanation. I’m sure we could come up with plausible explanations for almost anything. That’s not really the same thing as “knowing why the fence was built”, though. I’ve heard half a dozen plausible explanations for it, and at this point we’re only guessing as to which one of them (or all of them, or none) was responsible for those religious rules to be written in the first place.
Anyway, my point was more that it’s a good idea to try to find out why “the fence was built”, but not being able to find that out or find a rational explanation for it should not be a reason to leave the fence there, which the Chesterton’s Fence rule seems to imply. There may not be a rational explanation, or if there is there might be nobody alive who can know for sure. The Chesterton’s Fence rule, if applied literally, would tend to lead to a very heavy bias in favor of the status quo, and especially a bias in favor of status quo rituals or conventions of fairly mysterious or ancient origin (which is probably what the inventor of the idea had in mind).
One big objection I have to the Chesterton’s Fence argument is that it makes it much easier to remove a barrier if is a rational and obvious reason exists for that barrier (if we consider that reason to be too weak to justify it) then if the reasons for the barrier were completely irrational and therefore basically incomprehensible to us.
We may not be able to figure out why certain ancient religions required male circumcision in all cases, but the fact that we can’t figure out why that’s a rule shouldn’t be a reason for us to continue to follow that rule.
Actually, there’s a good reason why: because a religion having rituals for group membership that require commitment (including commitment on the part of parents) survive better than religions that don’t.
Sure, that’s a plausible explanation. I’m sure we could come up with plausible explanations for almost anything. That’s not really the same thing as “knowing why the fence was built”, though. I’ve heard half a dozen plausible explanations for it, and at this point we’re only guessing as to which one of them (or all of them, or none) was responsible for those religious rules to be written in the first place.
Anyway, my point was more that it’s a good idea to try to find out why “the fence was built”, but not being able to find that out or find a rational explanation for it should not be a reason to leave the fence there, which the Chesterton’s Fence rule seems to imply. There may not be a rational explanation, or if there is there might be nobody alive who can know for sure. The Chesterton’s Fence rule, if applied literally, would tend to lead to a very heavy bias in favor of the status quo, and especially a bias in favor of status quo rituals or conventions of fairly mysterious or ancient origin (which is probably what the inventor of the idea had in mind).