The fable of the rational vampire. (I wish I had a link to credit the author). The rational vampire casually goes through life rationalising away the symptoms – “I’m allergic to garlic”, “I just don’t like the sun”. “It’s impolite to go into someone’s home uninvited, I’d be mortified if I did that”. “I don’t take selfies” and on it goes. Constant rationalisation.
Perhaps I’m missing the point, but it’s far from obvious to me that this hypothetical rationalist is wrong. Vampires don’t exist, after all. It is more likely that I have a mental illness that makes me think I have vampire-like symptoms, than that I’m actually a vampire. Rationalists should be more confused by fiction than reality, and I think that extends to fictional rationalists living in a fictional world that differs from our own only by isolated facts.
(Like, in a world with vampires, there should be reasons to believe in vampires that don’t apply in our world. In a world with Santa Claus, there should be reason to believe in Santa Claus—if he puts presents under trees, “presents mysteriously appear under trees” should be a known fact about the world.)
Perhaps I’m missing the point, but it’s far from obvious to me that this hypothetical rationalist is wrong. Vampires don’t exist, after all. It is more likely that I have a mental illness that makes me think I have vampire-like symptoms, than that I’m actually a vampire. Rationalists should be more confused by fiction than reality, and I think that extends to fictional rationalists living in a fictional world that differs from our own only by isolated facts.
(Like, in a world with vampires, there should be reasons to believe in vampires that don’t apply in our world. In a world with Santa Claus, there should be reason to believe in Santa Claus—if he puts presents under trees, “presents mysteriously appear under trees” should be a known fact about the world.)