trying to make it look like belief in witchcraft is very similar to belief in viruses.
I feel like you’re missing the point. Of course, the germ theory of disease is superior to ‘witchcraft.’ However, in the average person’s use of the term ‘virus,’ the understanding of what is actually going on is almost as shallow as ‘witchcraft.’ Of course, ‘virus’ does point towards a much deeper and important scientific understanding of what is going on, but in its every day use, it serves the same role as ‘witchcraft.’
The point of the quote is that sometimes, when you want to get a message across (like ‘boil the water before drinking it’) it’s easier to put yourself into the other person’s ontology and get the message across in terms that they would understand, rather than trying to explain all of science.
Yes, I felt that I was missing a point, thank you for pointing to the thing you found interesting in it.
it’s easier to put yourself into the other person’s ontology and get the message across in terms that they would understand, rather than trying to explain all of science.
Is a thing that makes sense. But I think the quote doesn’t point at it very well. First a big chunk of it is asserting that belief in witchcraft theory of disease is similar to belief in germ theory of disease. (I don’t know how well average person understands what are viruses)
Second where it talks about convincing by making concepts similar it’s weird. For example
… people give untreated well water to their babies. The children regularly get diarrhea, and many of them die (...) if they boil the water, it will kill these bacteria. A month later she’s back, and they’re still giving the babies the dirty water. After all, if a stranger came into your community and told you that your children got influenza because of witchcraft, would you respond by going out and slaughtering a sheep?
Influenza is much smaller risk than cholera (quick search says CFR for untreated cholera 25-50%, for flu 0.1%) and boiling water is much less costly than slaughtering sheep (it’s likely to result in prison time where I live). (EDIT to add: I didn’t check those numbers so don’t trust them too much, they’re just first numbers I could find and they roughly match my expectations)
Again thanks for explaining. (at least for me) your comment made the point much better than the quote in the post.
It’s also an interesting example of where consequentialist and Kantian ethics would diverge.
The consequentialist would argue that it’s perfectly reasonable to lie (according to your understanding of reality) if it reduces the numbers of infants dying and suffering. Kant, as far as I understand, would argue that lying is unacceptable, even in such clear-cut circumstances.
Perhaps a Kantian would say that the consequentialist is actually increasing suffering by playing along with and encouraging a system of belief they know to be false. They may reduce infant mortality in the near-term, but the culture might feel vindicated in their beliefs and proceed to kill more suspected “witches” to speed up the process of healing children.
I feel like you’re missing the point. Of course, the germ theory of disease is superior to ‘witchcraft.’ However, in the average person’s use of the term ‘virus,’ the understanding of what is actually going on is almost as shallow as ‘witchcraft.’ Of course, ‘virus’ does point towards a much deeper and important scientific understanding of what is going on, but in its every day use, it serves the same role as ‘witchcraft.’
The point of the quote is that sometimes, when you want to get a message across (like ‘boil the water before drinking it’) it’s easier to put yourself into the other person’s ontology and get the message across in terms that they would understand, rather than trying to explain all of science.
Yes, I felt that I was missing a point, thank you for pointing to the thing you found interesting in it.
Is a thing that makes sense. But I think the quote doesn’t point at it very well. First a big chunk of it is asserting that belief in witchcraft theory of disease is similar to belief in germ theory of disease. (I don’t know how well average person understands what are viruses)
Second where it talks about convincing by making concepts similar it’s weird. For example
Influenza is much smaller risk than cholera (quick search says CFR for untreated cholera 25-50%, for flu 0.1%) and boiling water is much less costly than slaughtering sheep (it’s likely to result in prison time where I live). (EDIT to add: I didn’t check those numbers so don’t trust them too much, they’re just first numbers I could find and they roughly match my expectations)
Again thanks for explaining. (at least for me) your comment made the point much better than the quote in the post.
It’s also an interesting example of where consequentialist and Kantian ethics would diverge.
The consequentialist would argue that it’s perfectly reasonable to lie (according to your understanding of reality) if it reduces the numbers of infants dying and suffering. Kant, as far as I understand, would argue that lying is unacceptable, even in such clear-cut circumstances.
Perhaps a Kantian would say that the consequentialist is actually increasing suffering by playing along with and encouraging a system of belief they know to be false. They may reduce infant mortality in the near-term, but the culture might feel vindicated in their beliefs and proceed to kill more suspected “witches” to speed up the process of healing children.