3 ms·
It reminds me of something I read in response to that question (I can’t remember where): People love to place things in tidy categories; nature doesn’t.
by hahajk 7y ago
It reminds me of something I read in response to that question (I can’t remember where): People love to place things in tidy categories; nature doesn’t.
- blattimwind 7y agoAll taxonomies, but especially those concerning objects not made by man, are obviously subject to epistemic anthropocentrism.
- dwaltrip 7y agoEvery second, we are constantly and automatically distilling insane quantities of internal and external stimuli into much simpler -- but still incredibly complex -- webs of categories, associations, and relationships. Each moment of awareness is composed entirely from these mental constructions. We also analyze and modify our representations in various ways, both consciously and unconsciously. Science is one of the more explicit processes for doing so. Of course, much of reality is lost and distorted in the process. But we do the best we can :) I like to think we make better maps of reality now and then. I suppose, at the very least, some of the maps we currently possess can be used to enact more dramatic change in the world around us than ever before, which must say something about their truthiness.