I guess what I am trying to say with the trust argument is that it takes a certain amount of education and background to even grasp some of the concepts being discussed, and a large portion of the planet, and even a high percentage of people in developed nations do not have the background to fully understand the problem, let alone have the ability to assess evidence. This means that the majority of people lack the skills to properly develop their own position on the topic, and instead derive their opinions on the statements of "experts". This boils down to a belief situation much like religion where the "truth" can be manipulated by "experts" with dubious motives.
My opinion is that we should act on the advice of the people who are able to properly assess the situation, and not on popular opinion. However our political systems work on the majority vote, so one can imagine (and indeed we are witnessing) a number of scenarios where our political situation is manipulated to delay any real change in our society that would offset climate change. Even worse, the changes necessary go against the desires of human nature, so it is hard to imagine the majority voting to change our lifestyle to save the planet. In this situation I trust the experts more than our political systems. Just a few thoughts... David On Nov 16, 5:37 pm, "Edward K. Ream" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 9:36 AM, Edward K. Ream <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 9:00 AM, schryer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > The "trust" argument because it is often used by the bozo > > epistemologists. > > I meant to say, "The 'trust' argument is often used by bozo epistemologists." > > EKR --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "leo-editor" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/leo-editor?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
