Stupid is better than smart • Hacker News Board

Re: Stupid is better than smart

#11

Post by gjm11 » Sun, Jan 30, 2011, 11:15 PM UTC

Tim1776 wrote: post #4

Glorification of the stupid is nihilistic. Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed. So reason is required to produce the values on which human life depends. In "The Roots of Nazi Psychology: Hitler's Utopian Barbarism", Jay Gonen described the typical Nazi mentality as being a contradictory mix of brutality and intellect. He analyzed these "brilliant morons" in Freudian terms, but according to Leonard Peikoff, in his…

> Kant who famously attacked reason

[citation needed]

Yes, Kant wrote books called "Critique of pure reason" and "Critique of practical reason", but they were not attacking reason.

You needn't take my word for it. Here is an excerpt from the article on Kant in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (which is online but written by experts and very good indeed):

"Kant's main goal is to show that a critique of reason by reason itself, unaided and unrestrained by traditional authorities, establishes a secure and consistent basis for both Newtonian science and traditional morality and religion. In other words, free rational inquiry adequately supports all of these essential human interests and shows them to be mutually consistent. So reason deserves the sovereignty attributed to it by the Enlightenment."

"Famously attacked reason", forsooth!

Re: Stupid is better than smart

#12

Post by smoyer » Mon, Jan 31, 2011, 12:11 AM UTC

So ... is that stupid for certain values of smart? Or is it smart for certain values of stupid?

I agree with the basic premise: Think outside the box. Don't get stuck in a mental rut. And most importantly, don't let others with no vision bring you down. But I think the validity of your message was undermined by how you said it.

Re: Stupid is better than smart

#13

Post by Tim1776 » Mon, Jan 31, 2011, 12:30 AM UTC

gjm11 wrote: post #11

Tim1776 wrote: post #4

Glorification of the stupid is nihilistic. Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed. So reason is required to produce the values on which human life depends. In "The Roots of Nazi Psychology: Hitler's Utopian Barbarism", Jay Gonen described the typical Nazi mentality as being a contradictory mix of brutality and intellect. He analyzed these "brilliant morons" in Freudian terms, but according to Leonard Peikoff, in his…

> Kant who famously attacked reason [citation needed] Yes, Kant wrote books called "Critique of pure reason" and "Critique of practical reason", but they were not attacking reason. You needn't take my word for it. Here is an excerpt from the article on Kant in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (which is online but written by experts and very good indeed): "Kant's main goal is to show that a critique of reason b…

If you study this a little deeper, you will discover that it is improper to cast Kant in the role of being a champion of reason.

On the contrary, Kant made no secret of his motive for writing those books. His aim was to make a metaphysical domain for religion.

His method was to drive a wedge between the natural world and the human mind.

In the Preface to the Second Edition of the "Critique of Pure Reason", he says "I must, therefore, abolish knowledge, to make room for belief."

To understand Kant's main gimmick, see "Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology" by Ayn Rand.

Re: Stupid is better than smart

#14

Post by gjm11 » Mon, Jan 31, 2011, 1:16 AM UTC

Tim1776 wrote: post #13

gjm11 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Kant who famously attacked reason [citation needed] Yes, Kant wrote books called "Critique of pure reason" and "Critique of practical reason", but they were not attacking reason. You needn't take my word for it. Here is an excerpt from the article on Kant in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (which is online but written by experts and very good indeed): "Kant's main goal is to show that a critique of reason b…

If you study this a little deeper, you will discover that it is improper to cast Kant in the role of being a champion of reason. On the contrary, Kant made no secret of his motive for writing those books. His aim was to make a metaphysical domain for religion. His method was to drive a wedge between the natural world and the human mind. In the Preface to the Second Edition of the "Critique of Pure Reason", he says "I…

Kant did indeed write the words you quote. But I wonder whether you've actually read them in their context, because it seems very obvious to me that he is applying this statement only to metaphysics. He is saying that we cannot know for certain (for instance) whether God exists, or whether "free will" is real. Now, this may be right or wrong, but it certainly isn't anti-rational.

As for the "wedge between the natural world and the human mind": if by that you mean that, e.g., he insisted that our minds aren't presented directly with Things Themselves, and that perception is an indirect affair: yup, he did, and he was right, and again I see nothing anti-rational in that. (Yes, I know Objectivism teaches otherwise. So much the worse for Objectivism.)

Re: Stupid is better than smart

#15

Post by Tim1776 » Mon, Jan 31, 2011, 1:33 AM UTC

gjm11 wrote: post #14

Tim1776 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you study this a little deeper, you will discover that it is improper to cast Kant in the role of being a champion of reason. On the contrary, Kant made no secret of his motive for writing those books. His aim was to make a metaphysical domain for religion. His method was to drive a wedge between the natural world and the human mind. In the Preface to the Second Edition of the "Critique of Pure Reason", he says "I…

Kant did indeed write the words you quote. But I wonder whether you've actually read them in their context, because it seems very obvious to me that he is applying this statement only to metaphysics . He is saying that we cannot know for certain (for instance) whether God exists, or whether "free will" is real. Now, this may be right or wrong, but it certainly isn't anti-rational . As for the "wedge between the natur…

It is anti-rational to try to establish a premise for reasoning by arbitrary assertion. In other words, an evidence-free reason is no reason at all.

Simply stating a position in order to propel a line of thought is just empty talk, to be dismissed without further consideration.

Re: Stupid is better than smart

#16

Post by superchink » Mon, Jan 31, 2011, 5:11 AM UTC

In case not everyone is aware, this is a campaign for Diesel. I first saw this as a storefront display in Santa Monica saying "BE STUPID" in big bold letters, which led me to a quick search and to: http://www.diesel.com/be-stupid/

Clever campaign. I don't know of many clothing companies that have marketing slogans that get discussed on HN.

Re: Stupid is better than smart

#17

Post by zazi » Mon, Jan 31, 2011, 1:08 PM UTC

Doesn't make sense to me. This sounds like the opposite of what John Stuart Mill said about Socrates and the fool.

"It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question."

- John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism (1863)