I argue that this is a dangerous line of thought because it’s assuming that there exists some “what we really think” that we are uncovering. But what if we’re thinking using an approximation that doesn’t extend to all possible situations?
Then the thought experiment is a useful negative result telling us we need something more comprehensive.
[Even worse is when people ignore the fact that the concept is a human invention at all, and try to understand “the true nature of belief” (not just what we think about belief) by conceptual analysis
What’s the problem? Even if all concepts are human-made, that doesn’t mean we have perfect reflective access to them for free. Thought experiments can be seen as a way of informing the conscious mind what the unconscious mind is doing.
Well, one can ask that, but maybe it doesn’t have an answer.
Or maybe it does. Negative results are still information, so it is hard to see how we can solve problems better by avoiding thought experiments.
Then the thought experiment is a useful negative result telling us we need something more comprehensive.
Paradigms also outline which negative results are merely noise :P I know it’s not nice to pick on people, but look at the negative utilitarians. They’re perfectly nice people, they just kept looking for The Answer until they found something they could see no refutation of, and look where that got them.
I’m not absolutely against thought experiments, but I think that high-energy philosophy as a research methodology is deeply flawed.
Then the thought experiment is a useful negative result telling us we need something more comprehensive.
What’s the problem? Even if all concepts are human-made, that doesn’t mean we have perfect reflective access to them for free. Thought experiments can be seen as a way of informing the conscious mind what the unconscious mind is doing.
Or maybe it does. Negative results are still information, so it is hard to see how we can solve problems better by avoiding thought experiments.
Paradigms also outline which negative results are merely noise :P I know it’s not nice to pick on people, but look at the negative utilitarians. They’re perfectly nice people, they just kept looking for The Answer until they found something they could see no refutation of, and look where that got them.
I’m not absolutely against thought experiments, but I think that high-energy philosophy as a research methodology is deeply flawed.