“Tracing back the chain of causality, step by step, I discover that my belief that I’m wearing socks is fully explained by the fact that I’m wearing socks. This is right and proper, as you cannot gain information about something without interacting with it.”
Maybe I’m being pedantic on this point, but doesn’t the interaction with the socks constitute the act of putting them on which actually fully explains that you’re wearing them? Of course, you can go back further along the causal chain to the reason you put them on—perhaps the room was cold, or you had to put on boots to go outside. Regardless, the more we regress backwards on this chain, the farther from the change in state from Socks_off to Socks_on would we find ourselves in the causal sequence of events leading up to your wearing them.
That being said, wouldn’t the circular explanation—I’m wearing socks because I’m wearing socks—actually be the explanation arrived at as we approach the causal chain’s resulting state of affairs where we’re wearing socks instead of not wearing socks? The ‘new information’ is actually gained by the interaction with the socks preceding our wearing them or our resulting need to explain this phenomenon.
“Tracing back the chain of causality, step by step, I discover that my belief that I’m wearing socks is fully explained by the fact that I’m wearing socks. This is right and proper, as you cannot gain information about something without interacting with it.”
Maybe I’m being pedantic on this point, but doesn’t the interaction with the socks constitute the act of putting them on which actually fully explains that you’re wearing them? Of course, you can go back further along the causal chain to the reason you put them on—perhaps the room was cold, or you had to put on boots to go outside. Regardless, the more we regress backwards on this chain, the farther from the change in state from Socks_off to Socks_on would we find ourselves in the causal sequence of events leading up to your wearing them.
That being said, wouldn’t the circular explanation—I’m wearing socks because I’m wearing socks—actually be the explanation arrived at as we approach the causal chain’s resulting state of affairs where we’re wearing socks instead of not wearing socks? The ‘new information’ is actually gained by the interaction with the socks preceding our wearing them or our resulting need to explain this phenomenon.