Skepticon: Ethics of (Ir)Rationality

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , ,

Skepticon is off to a great start!

Thursday night consisted of a few of the early arrivers having a relaxed pre-convention hangout in the University Plaza hotel lobby. I ran into old friends, made new friends and sipped some pretty tasty scotch.

The first workshop I attended on Friday morning was led by Stephanie Zvan and James Croft. They presented Ethics of Rationality…or perhaps it was the ethics of irrationality. The workshop was very much a workshop; it was based on audience participation and discussion. Stephanie and James opened with the premise that irrationality can be unethical. They then invited all of us to give examples of arguments or issues that we believe use irrationality unethically. Suggestions included arguments for religion/belief in a god, war, pro-life campaigns and marketing, to name a few. We then spent some time ripping apart whether any of those topics in fact engaged in unethical uses of irrationality, and if so, how often or too what degree.

Stephanie provided an example of the emotional arguments in political ads, specifically the recent Minnesotans United campaign to encourage voters to reject an anti-gay amendment to the Minnesota constitution (which totes passed!) The ads were very emotional, showing pictures of loving families and sharing stories of same sex couples who would be effected by a constitutional ban on gay marriage. The campaign incited feelings of love, compassion, empathy and outrage in those of us who support marriage equality.

We know that an appeal to emotion is a fallacious argument.  Of course, if you are evoking emotion while providing valid logic for your argument, that isn’t the appeal to emotion fallacy. Whether the ads invoked the formal appeal to emotion fallacy wasn’t the main point of the example, though.

Using an emotional argument to achieve your ends because you know it works seems to be rational, but is it ethical? Does whether it’s ethical to tug on someone’s heart strings to achieve a goal depend on the ends? Is using an emotional appeal okay if one is using it to incite positive rather than negative emotions, to do good rather than harm?

Stephanie asked that if evoking positive emotion makes an argument or position ethical, is patriotism a good thing? As you might imagine, the ensuing audience discussion filled up a number of minutes. Personally, I don’t think so. Patriotism might at times incite good feelings in those who engage in it, but patriotism ultimately establishes “us and them” boundaries and as such can be a dangerous tool. Religion also incites good feelings in those who participate, but I do not believe religion is an ethical pursuit.

James brought us back to to the use of emotion in marketing, political ads, etc and asked us to consider what the responsibility of the viewer or consumer of such messages is. Because while it may be rational to use irrational or unethical arguments to achieve an end, doesn’t the receiver have some responsibility to not be duped?

YES. I think that’s why so many of us strive to learn more about our brains and the ways we can be fooled. That’s why we seek out logical fallacies, point them out, try to define them when they appear (see – it’s not just because we’re anal retentive assholes!). As skeptics we believe that we have an obligation to not fall for bullshit. And it is hard. It is work. As one audience member pointed out, all you have to do is go to the ER to see what happens to our decision-making when we’re emotional. Even the most rational people in the world can lose their perspective when overcome with emotion.

But – another speaker noted – emotions aren’t all bad. Emotions give us an immediate source or information, and can give our our body a way to tell us something is wrong. Of course, our immediate response to the emotion(s) may not be rational.

At some point, James Croft transitioned us into religion. ‘Cuz apparently that’s something that some people at Skepticon are interested or something.

He made the point that religious spaces are incredibly emotional – art, ritual, music. These are things that are not formal propositional arguments, and they can be emotionally compelling even for those who don’t share the beliefs. There was more audience discussion and response to this idea, but…

…when you try to answer all questions of logic and rationality in under an hour, you don’t always reach a satisfactory conclusion. I left the workshop with new ideas and things to think about, so I give it two thumbs up.

And I’ll leave you with this ad, which might be fun to think about through the lenses of rationality and ethics: The Skepticon “Kittens are cute.” billboard! I think it’s a rational argument in irrational-looking clothing. I mean, it looks like a non sequitur, until you understand the thoughts behind it (okay, it’s still a non sequitur, but it’s a non sequitur with a purpose!). Snarky, thought-provoking and 100% ethical (no kittens were harmed in the making of this billboard).

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Skepticon: Ethics of (Ir)Rationality

About the author

Thoughts from a Minneapolis-based nerdy, liberal, humanist progressive on topics such as science, skepticism, religion, atheism, critical thought, politics, and local and global humanitarian and equality efforts. Biodork <3's geek culture, groan-inducing puns, world travel, cultural exchange and sharing and listening to stories.
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737 thoughts on “Skepticon: Ethics of (Ir)Rationality”

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    Ethics?

    When I realized how manipulatable many/most people were, I gave up and became a consequentialist. “Does whether it’s ethical to tug on someone’s heart strings to achieve a goal depend on the ends?” So I guess my answer is “yes”, although the question “Is it actually going to work” matters too.

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    non-sequiter

    The phrase is “non sequitur”.

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    Добрый день друзья
    Артезианская и песчаная виды скважин. Ориентируясь на цели и нужды своего заказчика компания “БурТехСервис” выполняет бурение как скважин на песок (до первого водоносного слоя – песчаный слой), так и артезианских скважин, расположенных глубже (водоносный слой известняк, в котором естественными способами отфильтровывается вода).

    Давайте разберемся, какому типу скважин отдать предпочтение.

    Сравнение артезианского и песчаного типов скважин
    Критерий

    Скважина на песок

    Артезианская скважина

    Глубина

    Бурение осуществляется на небольшую глубину до первого водоносного (песчаного) слоя – 20-60 метров

    При бурении артезианской скважины можно достичь большой глубины (до 250 метров)

    Срок службы

    10-20 лет при условии регулярной эксплуатации

    Срок службы составляет свыше 50 лет независимо от регулярности эксплуатации

    Дебит (производительность) скважины

    Небольшой – около 600 литров в час

    Большой дебит скважины (до 20 м3 в час)

    Особенности монтажа

    Сложности при монтаже и эксплуатации оборудования для подачи воды.

    Не возникает трудностей при монтаже и использовании оборудования.

    Фильтр

    Необходимо установить фильтр для защиты питьевой воды от попадания в нее песка и других загрязнений

    Необходимости в установке фильтров нет, поскольку вода в известняковом слое отфильтровывается и обеззараживается естественными способами

    Затраты

    Скважины на песок – популярный и незатратный способ провести воду в дом

    Затраты гораздо выше ввиду сложностей проведения буровых работ и монтажа оборудования

    Объём водоснабжения

    Воды хватает на покрытие нужд лишь одного дома

    Водоснабжения с лихвой хватает на весь частный сектор или посёлок.

    skvazhina-na-pesok
    Скважина на песок
    artezianskaya-skvazhina
    Артезианская скважина
    Скважина на песок
    Популярность этого типа скважин обусловлена доступной ценой и быстротой построения. Весь процесс состоит из следующих этапов:

    Бурение скважины роторным или шнековым способом.
    В пробуренное отверстие монтируем обсадную трубу. В качестве обсадных труб используем трубы нПВХ из пищевого пластика 90 или 125. Они наиболее эффективно обеспечивают целостность ствола скважины и защищают оборудование от различных механических нагрузок извне
    После этого устанавливаем 3-метровый фильтр из полиамидной сетки галунного плетения европейского производства. Он защищает воду от попадания в нее песка и других загрязнений.
    Обсыпка фильтра фильтрующим песком
    Прокачка скважины до визуально чистой воды.
    Подбор и установка насосного оборудования.
    После того как скважина пробурена и установлен насос для обеспечения подъема воды на поверхность, рекомендуется обустроить скважину необходимым оборудованием. Обустройство скважины продляет срок ее эксплуатации, сохраняя ее в работоспособном состоянии долгие годы. С вариантами обустройства вы можете ознакомиться здесь.

    Артезианская скважина (на известняк)
    В артезианской скважине водоносный слой находится между двумя слоями известняковой породы на достаточно большой глубине – до 250 метров. Это обеспечивает воде непревзойденное качество и чистоту. Установка фильтров не требуется – на такой глубине вода отфильтровывается естественными способами.

    Скважина артезианского типа бурится роторном способом. Существует 4 вида конструкции артезианской скважины;

    Стандартная. В этом случае в грунтовом слое не содержится песка и глины, а давление воды очень высокое. Скважину оснащают одной металлической обсадной трубой. Диаметр трубы может достигать 159 мм. Не требует глубокого погружения насоса — воду можно добывать уже при наполненности 2 труб — до этой отметки она поднимается спокойно.
    С двойной обсадной трубой. В грунтовом слое имеется и песок, и глина, а давление воды очень слабое – самый оптимальный вариант для проведения работ. Без глинистых слоев встречаются довольно редко, потому чаще монтируется скважина с двойной обсадной трубой. Дополнительный элемент монтируется в зоне с сухим известняком.
    С кондуктором. В грунтовом слое не имеется песка и глины, давление воды высокое, но могут существовать преграды в верхних слоях – плывуны. Именно там монтируется кондуктор. Это помогает компенсировать давление.
    Телескопическая конструкция. Применяется в местах с неустойчивым грунтом с камнями и валунами. Конструкцию называют телескопической, так как здесь используется сразу три обсадных металлических трубы. Это позволяет компенсировать сильное давление среды.
    В распоряжении “БурТехСервис” имеется полной набор специальной техники, необходимой для проведения буровых работ на всех этапах, включая земельные работы. Вы можете ознакомиться со буровыми комплектами , а также с фотографиями техники в процессе работы.

    Свяжитесь с нами по телефону или оставьте заявку,наш специалист проконсультирует вас по всем вопросам бурения, а также обустройства скважин. В компании “БурТехСервис” работают высококвалифицированные и опытные специалисты по бурению — после окончания работ у вас будет сооружена автономная скважина с чистой водой.

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