“A, without B, C …”: Socratic-Baconian echoes in Confucius’ Analects
Further Stoicising observations on the World Classic
If the renaissance philosopher Francis Bacon has a claim to be the founder of the modern scientific “method” or methods which have transformed the world since 1600, it is because of his ‘new’ theory of induction. It is a theory of induction, not by simply adding up examples which support our first ideas, like social media bubbles. It is a theory if induction which, having formed hypothesese, works by seeking out counter-examples, qualifications, counter-considerations.
“It is true that all swans (we know of so far) are white, … but perhaps we have not yet explored the globe, and so …”
“It is true that water, at this altitude, boils at 100 degrees ... but perhaps at different altiitudes, it may not ...”
It is the negations, each little blows to our pride and stupidity (the “genius” of our “intuitions”), that is going to do the work here of refining hypotheses, so we are not led by the noses to false generalisations, which we need to defend by denouncing critics (see social media again).
What a wonderful saying this is of Confucius, about the two kinds of security these different approaches to learning can lead to!: