Litany of Tarski
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If the box contains a diamond,
I desire to believe that the box contains a diamond;
If the box does not contain a diamond,
I desire to believe that the box does not contain a diamond;
Let me not become attached to beliefs I may not want.
The Litany of Tarski is actually a litany template that can be stated about any fact. Here's another example:
- If the sky is blue
- I desire to believe that the sky is blue
- If the sky is not blue
- I desire to believe that the sky is not blue.
Blog posts
- The Meditation on Curiosity
- Why truth? And... — You have an instrumental motive to care about the truth of your beliefs about anything you care about.
- Belief in Self-Deception — Deceiving yourself is harder than it seems. What looks like a successively adopted false belief may actually be just a belief in false belief.
- The Bottom Line
- A Rational Argument
- Tarski Statements as Rationalist Exercise by Vladimir Nesov
- A Fable of Science and Politics -- characters discover the color of the sky, with political implications.