It’s specifically about having a more accurate model of the universe. It’s not the same sort of thing as brushing your teeth, even though that’s also a good thing to do.
General principle: definitions put a thing into a category, and then explain how that thing is different from other things in the same category.
I don’t think definitions are how people generally use words—prototype theory seems more accurate. Prototype theory says that people have best examples of concepts, and then rank actual things according to how close they are to the prototype.
It would be nice to have a theory about how to decide when to use definitional thinking and when to use prototypes, but I don’t.
What makes that mental addition a “rationalist” thing to do, rather than simply a good thing to do?
It’s specifically about having a more accurate model of the universe. It’s not the same sort of thing as brushing your teeth, even though that’s also a good thing to do.
General principle: definitions put a thing into a category, and then explain how that thing is different from other things in the same category.
I don’t think definitions are how people generally use words—prototype theory seems more accurate. Prototype theory says that people have best examples of concepts, and then rank actual things according to how close they are to the prototype.
It would be nice to have a theory about how to decide when to use definitional thinking and when to use prototypes, but I don’t.
It’s a five-second skill—you have to train yourself to do it.