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definitions

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Essays on definitions

2 essays

Sep 7, 2023ACX

Contra Kirkegaard On Evolutionary Definitions Of Mental Illness

Scott Alexander critiques Emil Kirkegaard's evolutionary definition of mental illness, arguing for separate terms to distinguish between social dysfunction and evolutionary fitness concepts.

15 min read 2,312 words

Mar 21, 2009LW

The Power of Positivist Thinking

Scott defends a 'soft positivism' in which meaningful statements can be reduced to testable claims, and argues that statements that resist such reduction, like 'Islam is a religion of peace', often smuggle in emotion and prejudice.

18 min read 2,712 words

debate tactics definitions Eliezer Yudkowsky