LESSWRONGTags
LW

Dissolving the Question

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Applied to Book Review: Free Will by Ape in the coat 3y ago
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Applied to Grokking the Intentional Stance by jbkjr 3y ago
abramdemski3y20
  • I edited this to represent the idea that dissolving a question means getting rid of the curiosity associated with a question without answering the question. However, this is not perfectly clear. For example, dissolving the free will question seems to involve answering it and giving a cognitive reduction. Also, it seems possible to get rid of the curiosity without truly dissolving a question; for example, by giving a reason why the question is unimportant. Or by giving a fake but convincing answer. So, it seems we need a better definition of dissolving the question.
  • I think dissolving the question always involves giving a cognitive reduction. But I'm not sure. Thoughts?
Reply

Dissolving a question usually (always?) involves providing a cognitive reduction of the question.

In other words, answering the question doesn't fully address the conclusionconfusion that the question represents!

Sometimes a question does have a strong answer as stated, but also needs to be dissolved. This is (arguably) the case with Free Will, for example - sayingexample:

  • If we do have free will, there's still an additional question of why so many philosophers would conclude otherwise.
  • If we don't have free willwill, there's still the question of why so many philosophers think we do.

This is (probably) not just a case of "the other side is being silly": there does indeed seem to be something weird about the question which deserves scrutiny.

In other words, answering the question doesn't explain why we still have an illusion of free will. fully address the conclusion that the question represents!

Sometimes a question does have a strong answer as stated, but also needs to be dissolved. This is (arguably)(arguably) the case with Free Will, for example - saying we don't have free will doesn't explain why we still have an illusion of free will. A failure mode in this step is giving justifications instead of explaining the process itself. Arguing that the reason we have an illusion of free will was that it was evolutionarily adaptive falls into this failure mode, as it doesn't explain the cognitive algorithm which produces the feeling of free will, and so doesn't dissolve the question. This can also be thought of as answering the "Why" instead of the "How", or as failing to provide a gears level model.

DissolvementDissolving the question is the act and technique of dissolving questions, confusions and problems.making a question no longer necessary: satisfying all associated curiosity, resolving all related confusions, but without answering the question. The classic example is the question "If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?". The apparent paradox of the question is, in this case, resolved by pointing out the ambiguity of the term "sound". The question can be dissolved by distinguishing between "Sound" as referring to auditory experience and "Sound" as referring to vibrations in the air. 

Sometimes finding the righta question does have a strong answer as stated, but also needs to a confusing question isn't enough to fully dissolve the question, it often requires understanding why the confusion comes up in the first place.be dissolved. This is (arguably) the case with Free Will, for example - saying we don't have free will doesn't explain why we still have an illusion of free will. A failure mode in this step is giving justifications instead of explaining the process itself. Arguing that the reason we have an illusion of free will was that it was evolutionarily adaptive falls into this failure mode, as it doesn't explain the cognitive algorithm which produces the feeling of free will, and so doesn't dissolve the question. This can also be thought of as answering the "Why" instead of the "How", or as failing to provide a gears level model.