8/2/07

Absolutely Simple

One of the most bothersome things to me is over simplicity by the use of absolutes, it is what can be called an abuse of Occam's Razor, as the example I give below is used therein, as a means of contending that the arguments mentioned must, according to those presenting them be right, no matter the differences in their scenarios.

George Santayana's infamous quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," whatever his intention was, is propounded by many sides in debates, most commonly on the use of force, to make audiences believe the positive consequences of their positions and the negative ones of their opponents are absolutely going to happen. What Santayana's words are best used as is not a mask for possible intellectual dishonesty, but a guide for making decisions. Cases are inherently individual as much, if not more, than they are similar, and history does not literally repeat itself, therefor a single absolute answer premised from that quote is like using the same pill to cure every illness with like symptoms, potentially deadly.

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