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The 'perfect world' evasion

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by absolutely

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First, I wish to give credit where credit is due. The phrase 'in a perfect world' and the context in which it is commonly used has always annoyed me, but until recently I couldn't fully verbalize why. Around the same time I joined TechRepublic I also began attending Objectivist meetings where I live. In both forums, I became acquainted with names for specific 'logical fallacies'. Although I had heard the phrase 'ad hominem attack' I wasn't familiar with any systematic, thorough identification of common falsehoods and the academic shorthand for quickly identifying and classifying logical fallacies as they are encountered. I have already noticed that liars and their lies have become much easier to identify & dismiss, [b]in real time[/b] in my personal life, and I haven't even begun studying any of the pages below that I just Googled, or any other reference guide to Logic.

http://www.logicalfallacies.info/
http://www.adamsmith.org/index.php
http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html

Given my academic background (private Catholic elementary & high school and a liberal arts college so selective that fewer than 1% of high school graduates even meet merit requirements for [b]consideration[/b] for admission) I consider the complete omission of any instruction in logic an abomination. Why do schools even bother with the 'Three R's' without teaching logic?

There were classes in logic [b]available[/b] in college, but not required. I didn't enroll for that class because my ability to think had been good enough to earn admission, and I was more interested in learning more facts and marketable skills than a topic that at the time I considered too esoteric to be useful. I salute deepsand, apotheon and the local intellectuals for introducing me to logic. I'm now not convinced I had ever previously met an honest intellectual, but I now know that they certainly exist.

Now, the specific topic that brought all of this to my attention. Recently the phrase 'perfect world' has been addressed to me several times in place of a reasoned assertion that a process or phenomenon in need of improvement ought to be allowed to remain in its present, inadequate state. In personal & professional life, I have never expected more than adequate delivery of your promises and responsibilities, all of you. Your brainless assertion that my expectation of delivering as promised is equivalent to expecting 'perfection' from you or that you will only fulfill your obligations in 'a perfect world', will no longer suffice. I'm onto you. I expect from you no more than what is mine by right, and [b]no less than that[/b]. Get used to it.

6 replies

by deepsand

It is all too often the case that, within a university, "logic" is consigned to the college of liberal arts, under the title of "Philosophy 101," or some similarly non-descript apellation, and is an elective course for all but liberal arts majors.

It seems to be [i]presumed[/i] that most, if not all, are inherently endowed with the both power of logic reasoning and the will to employ such; this, despite the fact that it is easily observed that we quite frequently act in a manner most irrational.

That we here see the latter repeatedly and forcefully demonstrated comes as no surprise to me; nor, I would not hesitate to claim, to you.

by absolutely

If more students like me had enrolled in the classes at the time I was in college, perforce the classes would have become more prominent.

by absolutely

presume to impose rather than attempt to convince. But, learning to expect it, and slowly becoming less disappointed.

by deepsand

In this regard, I lost my sense of surprise decades ago; but, I doubt that I will ever cease to be disappointed by those who clearly evidence the presence of an intellect sufficient for rationality but decline to utilize it.

by absolutely

It had been my policy to assume the best of people, but too many nasty surprises have logically required me to lower my expectations. Fewer disappointing surprises = fewer disappointments.

by deepsand

While my expectations bottomed out long ago, with a commensurate decrease in surprises, I still have hope, based on the occasional serendipity. It is lack of the latter that brings me disappointment.

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