‘Reason’ is what enables us to understand just how ‘unreasonable’ we are. And that is a thrilling feature of Homo sapiens’ consciousness.
“Churchill’s poodle” metaphor in our University of CQI: WC’s poodle knew many details of Master’s habits, moods, daily routines, as only a beloved pet could. But the poodle could not possibly grasp WWII, Hitler, Stalin, FDR, etc. Yet, we humans have some ability to ‘know we don’t know’,…..so why not with more consistency? It is do-able.
It is difficult to imagine a time more needful of understanding fallibilism – science (empirical knowledge based upon observation and experiment) produces knowledge that can only be accepted with some acknowledgment of doubt and uncertainty. In other words, we seldom can be confident of what is ‘true’,…….the scientific method is better suited at establishing what is ‘false’.
In fact, the stricter you view yourself as an empiricist (only the 5 senses and our brains produce objective knowledge), the more you understand how limited empiricism actually is,….meaning, authentic empiricists are the first to admit fallibility, uncertainty, and careful doubt (David Hume, Claude Bernard, Daniel Kahneman, Mary Warnock……).
Carlo Rovelli is a favorite physicist-writer of mine: “There are frontiers where we learn, our desire for knowledge burns. These are in the minute reaches of the fabric of space, at the origins of the cosmos, in the nature of time, in the phenomenon of black holes, and in the workings of our own thought. Here, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world. And it’s breathtaking.”
Lisa Rosenbaum’s attached essay is pre-COVID yet now more timely,…….pluralistic ignorance is a fascinating problematic phenomenon.
Joe Kaempf, MD
Portland, OR
Volume 13, Number 37