Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!nbires!hao!gatech!dcc1!ann
From: ann@dcc1.UUCP (Ann Heyman)
Newsgroups: sci.psychology
Subject: real life
Message-ID: <294@dcc1.UUCP>
Date: 1 Mar 88 15:14:13 GMT
Sender: root@dcc1.UUCP
Distribution: na
Organization: DeKalb College, Clarkston GA
Lines: 29
Keywords: truth

I copied this unattributed quote a couple of years ago from the 
net and although it purports to be about the political process,
I have found it applies quite well to life in general. As to its
suitability for this newsgroup, now that I am a mid-life psych
major in college, I find it reflected in more and more of my 
psych classes:

Some important facts:
1) If you influence people's beliefs, you influence their actions.
2) Sometimes the truth doesn't have the desired effect.
3) Most people can be convinced of beliefs by invalid arguments,
   or valid arguments based on doubtful evidence.
4) Almost everything we think we know about world events has been
   told to us by other people.

Given (1), it's only natural that people spend a great deal of time 
in political arguments.  Given (2), many people will find the truth
doesn't help out their political purpose.  Some will realize that
conventionally defined truth is no help to them, and get around the
problem by redefining truth as "what it is useful to get other people
to believe".  Hence the title, "Strategic Epistemology".  From (3),
it follows that it is fairly easy to spread the new truth.  From (4),
and the above considerations, it doesn't quite follow that everything 
you know is wrong, but let's just say that a lot of it is doubtful.
-- 
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/
 Ann Heyman                 /                                                
 DeKalb College             /         Another great mind -
 gatech!dcc1@ann            /               Ruined by higher education