Article Title: What do you really believe? Take the Truth-Demon Test
Article Summary
Aeon is one of our favourite resources for philosophy articles and this is one perfect example of the kind of advanced reading that you need to undertake for diversity in reading comprehension.
In this article, the author talks about how we defend our views (these might represent anything) and how we believe them to be true. But the author challenges this notion that actually there might be unconscious forces at play which influence our views and behaviour. A sentence which represents a key thought of the author of the passage: After all, we rarely give conscious thought to our reasons for saying what we do; the words just come to our lips. But if the motives behind our words are unconscious, then we must infer them from our behaviour, and might be mistaken about what they are. It’s easy to think of motives that might prompt us to express a view we don’t really believe.
The author talks about how social and emotional factors play a role in our beliefs and how this needs to be explored. He talks about the need for a thought experiment (Truth Demon) that is going to help us identify whether we truly believe in our beliefs.
Article Link: Click here to read the full article
Words to learn from this article:
Influenced: Have and exert influence or effect
Dramatists: Someone who writes plays
Creed: Any system of principles or beliefs
Reinforced: Given added strength or support
Epistemic: Of or relating to epistemology
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