tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post111754278620244686..comments2023-10-29T10:32:36.914-04:00Comments on Philosophy, et cetera: Experts and AuthorityRichard Y Chappellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1117701187817976042005-06-02T04:33:00.000-04:002005-06-02T04:33:00.000-04:00Perhaps modern forms of media have a lot to contri...Perhaps modern forms of media have a lot to contribute in this. They make only passable attempts to inform people, usually sensationalising the story -selling controversy if they can no matter how baseless. They give you a sound bite or two of information, that may be only uninformed opinion or over simplified/ out of context information. People in general then feel they have received information, are now informed and are able to make a judgement. If anything its in the same format as 20 seconds of advertising slot. If they hear it from enough sources of media it must be true. Simple repetition.<BR/><BR/>Doco's are also edited to play off between the "experts" with their reason and logic (so cold and uncaring) and joe publics feelings and how they have been personally affected by the issue. They pit emotion vs logic.<BR/><BR/>They know joe/sue public are 90% more likely to believe emotive based arguments rather than follow logic. Only ~10% of the population are rationals after all, so its a numbers game.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1117687535850772312005-06-02T00:45:00.000-04:002005-06-02T00:45:00.000-04:00I think both sides do that. It's just that right ...I think both sides do that. It's just that right now it is more obvious among liberals because of the problems of the day. A decade ago it was more noticeable among conservatives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1117652174761087382005-06-01T14:56:00.000-04:002005-06-01T14:56:00.000-04:00In my experience the left is much more accepting o...In my experience the left is much more accepting of nonexperts as experts - this leads to conspiracy theories and so forth.Geniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11624496692217466430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1117599924215352002005-06-01T00:25:00.000-04:002005-06-01T00:25:00.000-04:00Nope. In fact at the moment conservatives are bei...Nope. In fact at the moment conservatives are being attacked because of all their complaints and attacks on schools and academia. Some conservatives feel there is too much ideology and propaganda there -- the controversy has been raging on various blogs. I tend to think that the most outspoken conservatives have vastly overstated their case. But I do think a healthy skepticism and questioning of the academic de facto positions and heirarchy is in order.<BR/><BR/>Regarding the military many conservatives fear it, but also simultaneously think it important. Further they feel that people <I>in the service</I> are too often ignored and not respected. But even among conservative hawks and the military there has been unease, with many conservatives tending to see the military as too bureaucratic and afraid of risk. (You can see that in the tension between the military and the administration under Bush) <BR/><BR/>Even in church there are interesting trends. The Evangelicals who, at the moment, shore up a significant faction of social conservatives tend to practice a very individualistic approach to Christianity. There aren't hierarchies at all. Indeed "non-denomenational" or a de-emphasis on denominations is probably the fastest growing segment of religion in the United States. (And perhaps to a degree in the world) Of course there are other groups, such as conservative Catholics. (And Mormons of course -- but we're still relatively small in overal numbers even if I believe we're now the fifth or fourth largest <I>denomination</I> in the country) <BR/><BR/>And of course not all conservatives are social conservatives the way Evangelicals are.<BR/><BR/>There is in conservativism always a strong does of Libertarianism, although conservatives reject some of the excesses of Libertarianism as well as often being more pragmatic about acting to achieve aims.<BR/><BR/>Of course I should also add that there is probably a fair amount of bickering over just what conservativism is, after years of George Bush. (I think for a long time it's been largely defined by what it's not. i.e. opposed to traditional Liberalism)Clark Goblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03876620613578404474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1117595479637644412005-05-31T23:11:00.000-04:002005-05-31T23:11:00.000-04:00I'm a leftist and am certainly skeptical of author...I'm a leftist and am certainly skeptical of authority, but I'm also very skeptical of 'expertise' (but maybe that's because I'm a philosopher).<BR/><BR/>For example, the so called experts that say free-trade helps the third world are the conservaitve economic experts. What they don't say is unless you give a market time to develop industry under the protection of trade barriers, liberalizing thier markets juest destroys their economy to the benefit of the first world, the WTO has done it again and again.<BR/><BR/><A HTTP://WWW.GUARDIAN.CO.UK/COMMENT/STORY/0,,1495676,00.HTML HREF="" REL="nofollow">A Game of Double Bluff</A>Illusive Mindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05077172398731952774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1117580304579047372005-05-31T18:58:00.000-04:002005-05-31T18:58:00.000-04:00Really? That's quite surprising. I'd always thou...Really? That's quite surprising. I'd always thought of conservatives (in general) as being rather fond of authority figures and hierarchies, as in the military, church, schools, and so forth.Richard Y Chappellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16725218276285291235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642011.post-1117566457486461662005-05-31T15:07:00.000-04:002005-05-31T15:07:00.000-04:00I'd just add that I don't think that conservatives...I'd just add that I don't think that conservatives respect authority in the least. Indeed, at least in the American versions of modern conservativism, the movement is framed by a very healthy skepticism of authority of either sort.Clark Goblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03876620613578404474noreply@blogger.com