Yeah I agree it the idea of social constructs very much goes against the vibe of logical positivism, which is often what matters when talking with people who have it as their worldview. Logical positivism has long been shown unworkable, but many still cling to naive, intuitive versions of it, so I very much understand the impulse to push back on it (I’ve done the same myself many times!).
I wish we had a good name for the kind of strawman rationality that includes naive logical positivism that wasn’t “strawman rationality” or “straw rationality” because it’s not a fake position designed to be knocked down, but a real set of beliefs people hold that have to be argued against (especially among many people who are part of the rationalist scene).
Yeah I agree it the idea of social constructs very much goes against the vibe of logical positivism, which is often what matters when talking with people who have it as their worldview. Logical positivism has long been shown unworkable, but many still cling to naive, intuitive versions of it, so I very much understand the impulse to push back on it (I’ve done the same myself many times!).
I wish we had a good name for the kind of strawman rationality that includes naive logical positivism that wasn’t “strawman rationality” or “straw rationality” because it’s not a fake position designed to be knocked down, but a real set of beliefs people hold that have to be argued against (especially among many people who are part of the rationalist scene).