5 ms·

My wife has a cup that she got as a gift from somebody she cares about. It's not a very good looking cup, it can't be microwaved, and it has to be hand-washed.

My wife has a cup that she got as a gift from somebody she cares about. It's not a very good looking cup, it can't be microwaved, and it has to be hand-washed. She never uses it, it just sits in the closet. She has this cup not because she wants it but because she can't come to terms with not wanting it, with getting rid of it. Maybe you can vaguely summarize the situation as her wanting this cup, but that misses a lot of nuance.

watwut 6y ago
She wants that cup as remainder of the person that gave her the cup and as a show of respect toward that person. She wants that concerete cut.
jjk166 6y ago
I concur, you wife not-not wanting the cup is not a satisfying explanation for why she keeps the cup. Likewise not-not wanting to be polarized is not a satisfying explanation for why people are polarized.
- tunesmith 6y ago
  Still not a tautology though; not-not wanting does not mean wanting.
  - jjk166 6y ago
    Only because in your example wanting != wanting, which is an unfortunate consequence of the language not having a good word to differentiate between the desire to possess something and the desire not to be rid of it. -(-A) == A, when A == A, is a tautology though.
    - tunesmith 6y ago
      Still not true, for instance if A is "proven". If A is not not proven, it doesn't mean it is proven; it can still be a hypothesis. And yet, proven == proven.
      - jlokier 6y ago
        > If A is not not proven, it doesn't mean it is proven; it can still be a hypothesis. Are you sure? It seems to me if A is not not-proven, it is surely proven. If A is still just a hypothesis, then it is not-proven.
      - jlokier 6y ago
        > If A is not not proven, it doesn't mean it is proven; it can still be a hypothesis. Are you sure? It seems to me if A is not not-proven, it is surely proven. If A is still just a hypothesis, then it is not-proven, and isn't not not proven.
tunesmith 6y ago
That's like the greek term 'akrasia', which is the gap between who we want to be and who we behave as. It gives lie to those phrases like "Tell Me How Your Spend Your Time, I'll Tell You What You Value Most," and other pseudo-accountability philosophies. Akrasia exists, and the more people accept it, the better, as it helps us properly fashion regulation, addiction policy, etc.

watwut 6y ago

She wants that cup as remainder of the person that gave her the cup and as a show of respect toward that person. She wants that concerete cut.

jjk166 6y ago

I concur, you wife not-not wanting the cup is not a satisfying explanation for why she keeps the cup. Likewise not-not wanting to be polarized is not a satisfying explanation for why people are polarized.

tunesmith 6y ago
Still not a tautology though; not-not wanting does not mean wanting.
- jjk166 6y ago
  Only because in your example wanting != wanting, which is an unfortunate consequence of the language not having a good word to differentiate between the desire to possess something and the desire not to be rid of it. -(-A) == A, when A == A, is a tautology though.
  - tunesmith 6y ago
    Still not true, for instance if A is "proven". If A is not not proven, it doesn't mean it is proven; it can still be a hypothesis. And yet, proven == proven.
    - jlokier 6y ago
      > If A is not not proven, it doesn't mean it is proven; it can still be a hypothesis. Are you sure? It seems to me if A is not not-proven, it is surely proven. If A is still just a hypothesis, then it is not-proven.
    - jlokier 6y ago
      > If A is not not proven, it doesn't mean it is proven; it can still be a hypothesis. Are you sure? It seems to me if A is not not-proven, it is surely proven. If A is still just a hypothesis, then it is not-proven, and isn't not not proven.

tunesmith 6y ago

That's like the greek term 'akrasia', which is the gap between who we want to be and who we behave as. It gives lie to those phrases like "Tell Me How Your Spend Your Time, I'll Tell You What You Value Most," and other pseudo-accountability philosophies. Akrasia exists, and the more people accept it, the better, as it helps us properly fashion regulation, addiction policy, etc.