Comments on: Reductionist Persuits http://kybernetikos.com/2005/01/10/67/ Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:59:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: kyb http://kybernetikos.com/2005/01/10/67/#comment-24 Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:42:59 +0000 http://kybernetikos.com/2005/01/10/67/#comment-24 Quite right, but I think it's interesting to see how often when given time and space to think, people use that priviledge for working out ways of putting other people down, of torturing and causing pain, or of increasing their own importance or wealth. CS Lewis wrote in "The Abolition of Man" about science and nature, and how the current science has a tendency to reduce things to "just" the action of chemicals or "just" movement of particles due to forces. He imagined a kind of science that would seek to understand but not reduce, that would seek to explain, but not to explain away. I wonder if such a thing is possible. When I get my own copy of "The Abolition of Man" (lots of ideas for Sci-Fi storylines by the way), I'll probably post some here. Quite right, but I think it’s interesting to see how often when given time and space to think, people use that priviledge for working out ways of putting other people down, of torturing and causing pain, or of increasing their own importance or wealth. CS Lewis wrote in “The Abolition of Man” about science and nature, and how the current science has a tendency to reduce things to “just” the action of chemicals or “just” movement of particles due to forces. He imagined a kind of science that would seek to understand but not reduce, that would seek to explain, but not to explain away. I wonder if such a thing is possible. When I get my own copy of “The Abolition of Man” (lots of ideas for Sci-Fi storylines by the way), I’ll probably post some here.

]]> by: kyb http://kybernetikos.com/2005/01/10/67/#comment-23 Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:42:33 +0000 http://kybernetikos.com/2005/01/10/67/#comment-23 I love the idea of "stupid curiosity". Machines should do the work so people can think. I love the idea of “stupid curiosity”. Machines should do the work so people can think.

]]>