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What Is Confirmation Bias: Examples and Dangers

May 31, 2020

Do you know what’s the biggest obstacle to your finding the truth? You are! Each one of us must overcome their own preconceptions to discover what lies beneath. And confirmation bias is among the most insidious hurdles blocking our path.

Confirmation bias is when you favor indications or cases that support your existing viewpoints, while you disregard others that would force you to reconsider.

One typical confirmation bias example is superstition: You tend to remember the one time you had an accident after you saw a black cat, and conveniently forget the untold thousands you didn’t have an accident after seeing a black cat.

In this post we’ll take a closer look at confirmation bias: We’ll see how it works and why. I’ll offer you some typical examples of confirmation bias, and we’ll also see why it’s insidious.

I’ll even share a literary example!

confirmation bias examples
Confirmation bias means you’re blinded to your own prejudices
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Byron’s “Prometheus” and Existential Empowerment

April 18, 2020

Lord Byron’s “Prometheus” is one of my favorite poems. Once, in a discussion about poetry, someone asked me why. I impulsively replied: “Because ‘Prometheus’ teaches you about not giving a fuck”.

Needless to say, the discussion became lively and several arguments and counter-arguments followed – all polite and civilized, which is rare these days.

I was asked to explain myself. I did. And I decided to transfer the conclusions from that discussion here.

Byron's Prometheus
Byron’s “Prometheus” tells us it’s our very mortality what makes us powerful
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The Methodological Flaw of Agnosticism

February 7, 2020

Certain things are relative: Although we can say “hot” or “cold”, we can also compare, and say “hotter/colder than”. There are also things that are binary – either or. No matter what Hegelians might claim, I doubt you can be “a little bit pregnant”. In this context, an intellectually honest philosopher has to acknowledge a methodological flaw in agnosticism.

Theism is the belief in the existence of a supreme being – “God”. A pedantic observer would perhaps make all kinds of elaborations on this (arguably focusing on the difference between a theist and a deist), but for the purposes of this post – and focusing on what I term as the methodological flaw of agnosticism – the above definition should suffice.

That is, we have people – theists – believing in the existence of God. We also have atheists, who don’t find evidence for such a claim, and therefore do not accept the existence of God. Agnostics, on the other hand, are people who argue that nothing is known or can be known about the existence of God.

Agnosticism is effectively a perpetual suspension of judgment. As an agnostic, you basically say “I can’t know that there is a God, but I also can’t know that there isn’t. Hence, I refuse to take a stance”.

However, that’s precisely what the methodological flaw of agnosticism really is, as we’ll see.

flaw of agnosticism
– Is there a God or is there not?
– Trick question, I am God
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