Your comments on the Covid lab-leak theory article are interesting.
I think liberals (using that term loosely) missed the mark on that issue by being too reactionary to whacko views (case of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater") and also by having an overly narrow, reductionist view applied to the world and also placing too much of a sort of moral trust in our public institutions.
They frankly run the risk of making the same mistakes yet again with regard to some of the legitimate concerns right now coming out around vaccine safety and the efficacy of non-vaccine (or non mRNA) based treatments to covid.
Understand that are world is extremely complex and becoming increasingly so, responses to things have effects and consequences (for instance the vaccine, gain of function research). Liberals with a humanities background or those in policy should at least be aware of systems thinking and the basics of complex systems and effects to better understand the realities we're in.
A more scientific understanding or at least familiarity would be helpful in framing how we ought to think about issues (at least partially).
Also understand that like it or not, Western institutions are mostly in a full blown crisis of legitimation, caused in part by perverse economic incentives taking the place of actual objective science, something called "regulatory capture" , and other related phenomena. The contemporary critical theorist Habermas has written and thought much on this topic.
Public and private institutions will frankly need to be more morally transparent, honest, and ethical in the new era if they want to restore public trust and legitimacy (and also function better and more efficiently).
I'll also mention , reading Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Black Swan is a good resource to better understand the role and nature complex systems play in our daily world , society, and modern life. I'm currently listening through it.
Thanks for the comments and your writing.
Your comments on the Covid lab-leak theory article are interesting.
I think liberals (using that term loosely) missed the mark on that issue by being too reactionary to whacko views (case of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater") and also by having an overly narrow, reductionist view applied to the world and also placing too much of a sort of moral trust in our public institutions.
They frankly run the risk of making the same mistakes yet again with regard to some of the legitimate concerns right now coming out around vaccine safety and the efficacy of non-vaccine (or non mRNA) based treatments to covid.
Understand that are world is extremely complex and becoming increasingly so, responses to things have effects and consequences (for instance the vaccine, gain of function research). Liberals with a humanities background or those in policy should at least be aware of systems thinking and the basics of complex systems and effects to better understand the realities we're in.
A more scientific understanding or at least familiarity would be helpful in framing how we ought to think about issues (at least partially).
Also understand that like it or not, Western institutions are mostly in a full blown crisis of legitimation, caused in part by perverse economic incentives taking the place of actual objective science, something called "regulatory capture" , and other related phenomena. The contemporary critical theorist Habermas has written and thought much on this topic.
Public and private institutions will frankly need to be more morally transparent, honest, and ethical in the new era if they want to restore public trust and legitimacy (and also function better and more efficiently).
Thanks for this comment, Wes. Very helpful.
-Michael
I'm glad it was helpful.
I'll also mention , reading Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Black Swan is a good resource to better understand the role and nature complex systems play in our daily world , society, and modern life. I'm currently listening through it.
https://share.libbyapp.com/title/335848
Take care,