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ASA Conference “Indirection” April 98 Paul Stirling
Mar98
CREDULITY
Prologue
I could think up a ‘link’ to this conference. It is worth it? Most
people fit what they want to say into whatever theme opportunity
offers.
But my apologies for more or less ignoring my original title.
1. Introduction
1.1 Puzzles
I am daily astonished at what my fellow humans appear to find
persuasive, at what some of them clearly are prepared to claim they
know, to assert as ‘true’ - that is, at what people ‘believe’. The field
work which constantly renews this astonishment is not avoidable;
family, friends, acquaintances, enemies and strangers; radio and TV;
newspapers, books, articles, students’ essays, a seminars.
But I am immediately back with a range of puzzles - ‘problems’1 -
as old as the foragers, and perhaps homo erectus. I am astonished at
human gullibility, because I think that I know that people believe
things that are obviously false, or at least unproven. Which raises the
question of my own gullibility, and my own criteria of truth. It also
raises the question of cognitive social control. How do people get
other people to ‘know’ things? What happens to non-learners and
‘dissidents’? Notice that already I have used a lot of ‘big’ words; used
commonly in a variety of interconnected (or sometimes unconnected)
meanings.
A small digression. One of common sources of confusion in essays,
broadcasts, discussions, and I fear collegial writings is the word ‘we’.
No space to argue this here; but I recommend that I myself and all
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