Much evidence has accumulated in favor of such a dual view of reasoning. There is however some vagueness in the way the two systems are characterized. Instead of a principled distinction, we are presented with a bundle of contrasting features - slow/fast, automatic/controlled, explicit/implicit, associationist/rule based, modular/central - that, depending on the specific dual process theory, are attributed more or less exclusively to one of the two systems. As Evans states in a recent review, “it would then be helpful to (...) have some clear basis for this distinction”; he also suggests that “we might be better off talking about type 1 and type 2 processes” rather than systems. We share the intuitions that drove the development of dual system theories. Our goal here is to propose in the same spirit a principled distinction between two types of inferences: ‘intuitive inference’ and ‘reflective inference’. We ground this distinction in a massively modular view of the human mind where metarepresentational modules play an important role in explaining the peculiarities of human psychological evolution. We defend the hypothesis that the main function of reflective inference is to produce and evaluate arguments occurring in interpersonal communication. This function, we claim, helps explain important aspects of reasoning. We review some of the existing evidence and argue that it gives support to this approach. (shrink)

According to the argumentative theory of reasoning, humans have evolved reasoning abilities for argumentative purposes. This implies that some reasoning skills should be universals. Such a claim seems to be at odd with findings from cross-cultural research. First, a wealth of research, following the work of Luria, has shown apparent difficulties for illiterate populations to solve simple but abstract syllogisms. It can be shown, however, that once they are willing to accept the pragmatics of the task, these participants can perform (...) at or near ceiling. Second, historical, sociological and anthropological research has been used to claim that some Eastern cultures have not developed argumentation. These claims are the result of oversimplifications and of a selective view of the data. A closer looks reveals instead very elaborate forms of argumentation, in Chinese culture particularly. Third, cross-cultural psychologists have carried out an extensive research program aimed at showing that Easterners do not rely on the principle of non-contradiction and that they use holistic rather than analytic thinking. A review of these experiments shows that no qualitative difference emerges in the way Easterners and Westerners deal with argumentation and that in the proper context both populations can easily have recourse to holistic or analytic thinking. It is possible to conclude from this critical review that the reasoning skills involved in argumentation seem to be universal even though they can be used in different ways in various cultural contexts. (shrink)

The idea that simplicity matters in science is as old as science itself, with the much cited example of Ockham's Razor, 'entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem': entities are not to be multiplied beyond necessity. A problem with Ockham's razor is that nearly everybody seems to accept it, but few are able to define its exact meaning and to make it operational in a non-arbitrary way. Using a multidisciplinary perspective including philosophers, mathematicians, econometricians and economists, this 2002 monograph examines simplicity (...) by asking six questions: what is meant by simplicity? How is simplicity measured? Is there an optimum trade-off between simplicity and goodness-of-fit? What is the relation between simplicity and empirical modelling? What is the relation between simplicity and prediction? What is the connection between simplicity and convenience? The book concludes with reflections on simplicity by Nobel Laureates in Economics. (shrink)

In Ecce Homo's "Why I am a Destiny," Nietzsche declares that "the concept of politics" will merge entirely into a "Mind-war" and that "the earth will know Great politics." Through analyzing these two concepts, the aim of this article is to counter Bernard Williams's claim that "Nietzsche did not move to any view that offered a coherent politics." Nietzsche does so in calling for the founding of a "Party of Life," whose "concept of politics" is to breed a new "master (...) race," to fight a Mind-war, ignited by the "act" of the "Revaluation," The Antichrist, against the "Party of Christianity.". (shrink)

ABSTRACT In Ecce Homo’s “Why I am a Destiny,” Nietzsche declares that “the concept of politics” will merge entirely into a “Mind-war” and that “the earth will know Great politics.” Through analyzing these two concepts, the aim of this article is to counter Bernard Williams’s claim that “Nietzsche did not move to any view that offered a coherent politics.” Nietzsche does so in calling for the founding of a “Party of Life,” whose “concept of politics” is to breed a new (...) “master race,” to fight a Mind-war, ignited by the “act” of the “Revaluation,” The Antichrist, against the “Party of Christianity.”. (shrink)

SUMMARYDebates about Nietzsche's political thought today revolve around his role in contemporary democratic theory: is he a thinker to be mined for stimulating resources in view of refounding democratic legitimacy on a radicalised, postmodern and agonistic footing, or is he the modern arch-critic of democracy budding democrats must hone their arguments against? Moving away from this dichotomy, this article asks first and foremost what democracy meant for Nietzsche in late nineteenth-century Germany, and on that basis what we might learn from (...) him now. To do so, it will pay particular attention to the political, intellectual and cultural contexts within which Nietzsche's thought evolved, namely Bismarck's relationship to the new German Reichstag, the philological discovery of an original Aryan race, and Nietzsche's encounter with Gobineau's racist thought through his frequentation of the Wagner circle. It argues that Nietzsche's most lasting contribution to democratic thinking is not to be found in the different ways he may or may not be used to buttress certain contemporary ideological positions, but rather how his notions of ‘herd morality’, ‘misarchism’ and the genealogical method still provides us with the conceptual tools to better understand the political world we inhabit. (shrink)

Reasoning is generally seen as a means to improve knowledge and make better decisions. However, much evidence shows that reasoning often leads to epistemic distortions and poor decisions. This suggests that the function of reasoning should be rethought. Our hypothesis is that the function of reasoning is argumentative. It is to devise and evaluate arguments intended to persuade. Reasoning so conceived is adaptive given the exceptional dependence of humans on communication and their vulnerability to misinformation. A wide range of evidence (...) in the psychology of reasoning and decision making can be reinterpreted and better explained in the light of this hypothesis. Poor performance in standard reasoning tasks is explained by the lack of argumentative context. When the same problems are placed in a proper argumentative setting, people turn out to be skilled arguers. Skilled arguers, however, are not after the truth but after arguments supporting their views. This explains the notorious confirmation bias. This bias is apparent not only when people are actually arguing, but also when they are reasoning proactively from the perspective of having to defend their opinions. Reasoning so motivated can distort evaluations and attitudes and allow erroneous beliefs to persist. Proactively used reasoning also favors decisions that are easy to justify but not necessarily better. In all these instances traditionally described as failures or flaws, reasoning does exactly what can be expected of an argumentative device: Look for arguments that support a given conclusion, and, ceteris paribus, favor conclusions for which arguments can be found. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be (...) preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

Para Finlayson, el descubrimiento de América constituyó el fin de un ciclo, la circunvalación del globo, el encuentro de las dos corrientes migratorias que, habiendo partido de Asia, se dirigieron una hacia el este y la otra hacia el oeste. Frente a la Europa de ese entonces, acosada por cruentas guerras religiosas, desunida, amenazada por el oriente, integrada por muchas naciones que aún no eran propiamente Estados, con la legitimidad de los gobiernos en una crisis que ya se preveía, América (...) aparecía como territorio de esperanzas. Tal situación es, en algún sentido, análoga a la que se vivió en los años cuarenta del siglo XX, y así sostiene Finlayson: “[…] la superpoblación, los conflictos internacionales, la pobreza, las guerras que hoy asuelan casi todo el mundo tienen su esperanza concreta en los inmensos territorios de América”. No obstante, parece que se trata de una esperanza siempre incumplida y siempre postergada. (shrink)

La hermenéutica contemporánea, en general, ha sostenido una autonomía del texto y se le ha reprochado a Schleiermacher el tener una perspectiva psicologizante. No obstante, en este artículo se pretende mostrar que el fundamento de la prioridad de la "parte psicológica", como la llama Schleiermacher, estriba en que éste concibe la interpretación como una forma de diálogo, en la medida que, desde su perspectiva en todo texto alguien le dice algo a alguien, independientemente de que el intérprete sea o no (...) el destinatario original del texto. (shrink)

Clarence Finlayson fue un pensador americano, nacido en Valparaíso y que enseñó en Medellín, Indiana, Ciudad de México y otras ciudades de América. El presente texto pretende dar cuenta de los fundamentos metafísicos de su antropología, arraigados en la corriente escolástica, pero con evidentes influencias del pensamiento contemporáneo. La concepción metafísica de Clarence Finlayson constituye una recomprensión de los principios aristotélico-tomistas pensados a partir de una articulación entre ser y nada, como polos fundamentales de todo devenir, característico de los seres (...) compuestos. Asimismo, dado que, según Finlayson, la filosofía se funda en una intuición metafísica, como esta intuición se realiza en el reconocimiento experiencial del fenómeno de la muerte en contraste con el anhelo de ser absolutamente, la filosofía es la disciplina esencial del hombre, paradójicamente, en un sentido existencial. (shrink)

El presente trabajo pretende establecer los fundamentos de la querella sobre el ateismo en el que se ve envuelto Fichte y que le significa ser exonerado de la Universidad de Jena. A este respecto se establece que el primado de la libertad, como carácter constitutivo del sujeto, supone no sólo una conciencia autónoma en el ámbito moral y un primado de la razón práctica, como proponía Kant, sino también la exclusión de un orden trascendente que pueda intervenir directamente sobre el (...) "mundo físico". (shrink)

A partir de cuatro artículos publicados en la Revista de la Universidad de Antioquia entre los años 1945-1946 por Clarence Finlayson,1 se indagará el carácter y sentido de la conquista de América en su intención modernizadora. La disputa entre Las Casas y Sepúlveda en Valladolid permite establecer que las diferencias de método que uno y otro defienden no constituyen una deriva hacia formas de reconocimiento de la alteridad, sino que ambas se inscriben en el mismo espíritu colonizador, eje de una (...) modernidad totalizadora. Finlayson, casi quinientos años más tarde, contempla nuevamente a los indígenas americanos bajo patrones semejantes. (shrink)