Does the idea that it is a good thing to subject our beliefs (and even our belief in belief) to logical and analytical scrutiny count as belief in itself or is it so justifiable as to count as knowledge? If so, what is the justification?
I don’t think it does. Scrutinizing your beliefs is a corollary—it naturally follows if you believe that “Truth is good and valuable and its pursuit is worthwhile.” We value truth, we want our maps to match the territory, and so we scrutinize our beliefs. If anything needs to be justified, it’s the value placed on truth and knowledge thereof.
And that’s actually an interesting problem. Although my intuition shouts TRUTH IS GOOD, there’s not much I can say to prove that statement, outside of “It’s useful to be able to make accurate predictions.” It seems like the goodness of truth ought to be provable some way. But maybe it’s just a moral value that our (sub-)culture happens to hold particularly strongly? Perhaps someone better versed than I am in the arts of rationality can give a better answer.
Does the idea that it is a good thing to subject our beliefs (and even our belief in belief) to logical and analytical scrutiny count as belief in itself or is it so justifiable as to count as knowledge? If so, what is the justification?
I don’t think it does. Scrutinizing your beliefs is a corollary—it naturally follows if you believe that “Truth is good and valuable and its pursuit is worthwhile.” We value truth, we want our maps to match the territory, and so we scrutinize our beliefs. If anything needs to be justified, it’s the value placed on truth and knowledge thereof.
And that’s actually an interesting problem. Although my intuition shouts TRUTH IS GOOD, there’s not much I can say to prove that statement, outside of “It’s useful to be able to make accurate predictions.” It seems like the goodness of truth ought to be provable some way. But maybe it’s just a moral value that our (sub-)culture happens to hold particularly strongly? Perhaps someone better versed than I am in the arts of rationality can give a better answer.
Prove in which way? Not to mention that you need to define “good” first.
Would the observation that people who disregard “truth is good” rarely survive for long be considered a kinda-proof? :-)