
Iron Culture presented by MASS Ep. 109 - Empiricism vs Rationalism: What Do We Really Know When It Comes To Fitness?
Mar 8, 2021
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Two Complementary Ways To Know
- Rationalism uses logic and premises to deduce conclusions from known truths.
- Empiricism values sensory data and experiments as primary evidence for claims.
Absence Of Ideal Trials Isn’t Null Evidence
- Lack of a perfect RCT doesn't equal lack of evidence; apply parsimony and common-sense context.
- Some hypotheses are so implausible that indirect evidence and real-world logic suffice to reject them.
Parody Shows Rationalism’s Dangers
- Trexler cites a BMJ parody article to show rationalism can produce absurd conclusions.
- He uses the smoking-for-endurance example to illustrate how mechanistic cherry-picking misleads people.
