tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post3644337779812738133..comments2023-06-16T09:06:01.095-05:00Comments on Self-Referential Collapse: Single Etiology TheoryBP Mortonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531863521357661468noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post-34945155957681886972009-03-13T12:35:00.000-05:002009-03-13T12:35:00.000-05:00Yeah, I increasingly think that the metaphysics of...Yeah, I increasingly think that the metaphysics of causation is deeply linked to social ideas of responsibility. If our actions are caused by something external, say God's will, or genes+upbringing, or the incentives of the economic system, then we can feel free from direct responsibility for our actions, we can blame the system instead. But if we locate the cause of problems inside persons, then well, maybe we can shift the blame to some OTHER person, and again feel free from direct personal responsibility for events we disapprove of. Sartre thinks humans will dodge the pain of their own freedom and responsibility in anyway they can. If we go to multiple causation theory, then we are almost never FULLY to blame, but we are almost always PARTLY to blame. But how do we wrap a justice system around that? Who do you sue when a dozen different companies and federal agencies are each partly responsible for a food contaimination case? I think here our ethical pictures are conditioning our metaphysical picture.BP Mortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15531863521357661468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post-51187144507528750422009-03-12T16:59:00.000-05:002009-03-12T16:59:00.000-05:00"I been caught thinkin, once, when I was five!"Who..."I been caught thinkin, once, when I was five!"<BR/><BR/>Whoops, sorry, segued into late-90's alternapop. Anyway. The thing that frustrates me so greatly about single etiology theory--from the perspective of teaching a Critical Thinking class--is how <I>easy</I> it makes being both right and wrong. Yeah, that should be contradictory, but it isn't. <BR/><BR/>As you point out, and as I take incredible pains to discuss in my class, causation is almost never straightforward. But nearly everything in our current society is geared towards believing that it is simple--that for any effect, there is one (and only one, or at least one main) cause. So it's *easy* to find the cause of any problem--in effect, it's a recipe for scapegoating. What's the cause of our current economic meltdown? Loose regulation. Or Greenspan. Or the Republicans. Or the Democrats. Once any individual settles on The Cause, they stop. They ignore the complexities, the ways that all of this and more were at play--pointedly, including their own complicity, which is almost certainly there somewhere. It's ready-made scapegoating.<BR/><BR/>Just as frustratingly from the other direction, ignoring complex causal structures also makes it very difficult to be <I>right</I>. No, it wasn't the Republicans fault!--look at the role that Fannie & Freddie played! It couldn't be the fault of scurilous mortgage lenders--look at all the people who got in over their heads and should've known better! If you're looking for only one cause, you'll never find one, nothing will ever satisfy that goal (which might be part of the point). This is most annoying in places like looking for the "cause" of autism. Everything we know about autism just <I>screams</I> multiple causes, but that doesn't satisfy the medical single etiology methodology. So instead, lead after lead is kicked out when it can't be shown to be "significant" or "important" in the causal structure. Well, there probably isn't a single significant cause, or anything like it. ARGH!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262267092467942583.post-21264240238207768992009-03-12T10:34:00.000-05:002009-03-12T10:34:00.000-05:00Excellent post - many people already cannot afford...Excellent post - many people already cannot afford to pay to visit the doctor or dentist and are looking to simple home-made recipes to help their well-being.NoReplyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15343264535069766618noreply@blogger.com