Tuesday, October 02, 2018

Notebook questions (and a note) for "Best American Answers to the Question 'What Do You Believe...'"

For the "Best American Answers to the Question 'What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It,'” please complete the following in your notebook:

  1. As you read, write down the last name of the writer and the first three to five words of the answer for each of these answers, then as you finish each decide whether it seems to be making an argument. Write “yes,” “no,” or “yes and no” for each answer. (You don’t need to explain at this point, though we will likely discuss your whys on Wednesday.)
  2. Decide which two answers offer the most persuasive logic for their "thing I believe in even though I can't prove it." What specific elements of these answers make each persuasive for you?

Note: In the last paragraph of her answer, Alison Gopnik refers to Dan Dennett’s answer, which is not reprinted in this group, but can be found online here. Basically, his answer is a rather Wittgensteinian “I believe, but cannot yet prove, that acquiring a human language (an oral or sign language) is a necessary precondition for consciousness.”

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