Gary F,
That's an excellent question:
when it comes to cherry-picking and dogmatism about Peirce’s
methodeutic, I have only one question for you:
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye,
but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
(Cherry-picked from Matthew 7:3.)
Cherry picking is the natural starting point for *everybody* who
learns anything about anything. And dogmatism is the natural
development for anybody who has been successful in anything.
That is a given. And there are only two ways out of that trap:
(1) The School of Hard Knocks: If it works, keep doing it --
until it doesn't.
(2) Dialog: Open-ended debate with people who have different views.
This is also the reason for the "devil's advocate" who takes
the other side, or the prosecutor and the defendant in court.
And it's the most fundamental part of Peirce's methodeutic.
Point (1) is actually a variant of point (2), where the hard knocks
drive the subject to despair. The only way out of despair is a debate:
internal with oneself, or external with parents, teachers, colleagues,
mentors, friends, and enemies.
Enemies are often the most helpful. The most successful people
tend to be the ones who have suffered from the worst enemies.
The greatest players in any game or sport have been beaten,
many times, by the greatest competitors.
Sometimes the best friends start out as formidable enemies.
And all these roles can be played out in a mental dialog.
That is why I emphasized the dialog that was deleted from R 280.
John
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