I don’t think we’re disagreeing? The idea that the role of philosophy is to find equilibrium between pretheoretical views with minimal revision has something going for it. But it’s not a view that is obviously true. There are other ways of doing philosophy - ThreadSky

neillevy.bsky.social • 13 days ago

I don’t think we’re disagreeing? The idea that the role of philosophy is to find equilibrium between pretheoretical views with minimal revision has something going for it. But it’s not a view that is obviously true. There are other ways of doing philosophy

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danieldrucker.bsky.social•13 days ago

But that’s not what he’s saying: opinions can be sophisticated rather than pretheoretical, and they must be balanced just like the pretheoretical ones.

neillevy.bsky.social•12 days ago

I'm having trouble understanding the view you're attributing to him. What makes the opinions sophisticated (in contrast to pre-theoretical_? Ofc, ptos are sophisticated in multiple ways (neurally, psychofunctionally, in terms of their history and also in their content). How are ~pto sophisticated?

neillevy.bsky.social•12 days ago

I guess you mean they're the product of sophisticated reasoning? But this reasoning can't be philosophical (Lewis says). So non-philosophical sophisticated reasoning? What's that? Science (that would bring L closer to Quine)? I just can't see what you have in mind.

danieldrucker.bsky.social•12 days ago

I'm confused myself what the disconnect is... he specifically contrasts commonsensical and sophisticated opinions. Presumably some come from general, common, commonly perceived reliable opinions, and some from more abstract reasoning or commitments apart from that? What else would the contrast be?

danieldrucker.bsky.social•12 days ago

He doesn't give a theory distinguishing these, so I can't be completely certain. But the quote makes it very clear, to me at least, that he doesn't privilege commonsensical opinions, since they only mark a set of those that must be balanced. He doesn't mark this with pre-/post-theoretical, true.

danieldrucker.bsky.social•12 days ago

"If our official theories disagree with what we cannot help thinking outside the philosophy room, then no real equilibrium has been reached. Unless we are doubleplusgood doublethinkers, it will not last." (This continues the earlier quote.) Sophisticated I think are products of philosophy.

noamchompers.bsky.social•13 days ago

I think ‘with minimal revision’ and ‘as much as possible’ are perhaps stronger than they need to be, and phrases like ‘ceteris paribus’ or ‘one desideratum among many’ would perhaps be more congenial to DD (not pretending to speak for him)

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