tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post5349594421733002769..comments2010-01-28T12:51:57.944-05:00Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003484633933455827george@sentientdevelopments.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post-82902789856758744692010-01-28T12:51:57.944-05:002010-01-28T12:51:57.944-05:00&quot;Defending the Enlightenment&quot; is a great mini-essay. My compliments!<br /><br />Reason is fine - it certainly beats faith as a means of determining the truth - but nearly everyone thinks that they&#39;re using reason. To really determine the truth, you need evidence. That&#39;s the key.<br /><br />As you say, we&#39;re terrible at spotting our own errors. But if we rely on evidence, then, through the marketplace of ideas, we can count on other people to demonstrate how we&#39;re wrong, as we gleefully demonstrate their own errors. Provided we&#39;re willing to change our minds, based on the clear evidence, we all progress.<br /><br />IMHO, we need to teach <b>everyone</b> the reasoning behind the scientific method and the guidelines for determining what is good evidence and what isn&#39;t. We still might have cheaters in the marketplace of ideas, but perhaps they&#39;d have a harder time of it.WCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08552459555883204060noreply@blogger.com