Philosorapteuse
right on the left wing
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2012
- Messages
- 217
- MBTI Type
- INTP
True. However, there are deeper areas of analysis that start from counterfactuals. It starts to break into epistemological questions - how is it that I know this is true? How is it that I can know this is true? Eventually, you may get to the point where it seems that any sort of functioning in this universe requires a suspension of disbelief on some level.
Possibly, but one of the important things going on there is the understanding that you think something to be one way, while the possibility still exists for it to be another. Ultimately, you cannot make any absolute claim to knowing the truth. You only can believe something based on particular evidence. That's the linkage, IMO.
Perhaps. But then, we employ that kind of counterfactual understanding every day - it's certainly reasoning, but I'm not sure it merits the extra mantle of "critical thinking". I'm more inclined to cast creating the counterfactual as being creating the "environment" in which the real critical thinking can take place. But I think we're just arguing labels at this point really