ABOUT LOGICAL AND COGNITIVE-PSYCHOLOGICAL ROOTS OF CONSERVATISM
Abstract
Th is article is a continuation of the work carried by I. D. Osipov and aimed at a more complete and, consequently, multifaceted characterizing of the nature of conservatism in thinking. Analysis of conservatism as a cultural universal in its various aspects (historico-philosophical, ontological, sociophilosophical, argumentative, epistemological, and normative) continued through the examination of its logical and cognitive-psychological grounds. First of all, the metalogic principle of “conservative extension of the theory” is set out. It is then corroborated by examples from physics (the comparison of the Newtonian theory and special theory of relativity and from modern logic (comparison of classical logic and deontic logic). Cognitive-psychological foundations of conservatism as the mindset of the individual and a cultural universal are viewed on the procedures of setting the consistency of hypotheses. Th e focal point in contemporary studies of relevant issues, — undoubtedly, both theoretically and practically, — is to compare two variants of diagnosis: (1) without the use of the Bayes formula and (2) by applying this formula. In those studies was set universal and fundamental fact of “cognitive conservatism,” meaning common to all subjects a signifi cant tendency to underestimate the magnitude of the modal (most probable) hypotheses; while the modal hypothesis is identifi ed by the examinees correctly. Overall, it seems that the logical and cognitive-psychological “dimensions” of conservatism as a cultural universal are indeed important, and their study is an essential addition to our understanding of it. Refs 19. Figs 2.
Keywords:
conservatism, cultural universal, logical foundations cognitive-psychological foundations, a conservative extension of a theory, hypothesis, the Bayes’ formula, a cognitive conservatism.
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Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Philosophy and Conflict Studies" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.