Recognizing and Escaping from Kafka Traps

Until now, I didn't realize there was a name a peculiar type of argument, but from now on I will recognize it as a "Kafka Trap":

In The Trial, Kafka presents a totalitarian world where a man is arrested by unspecified authorities and accused of an unspecified crime. Kafka traps occurs when people are accused of something but their denials are interpreted as absolute proof that the accusation is true. For example,

You are an liar!"
"No I am not."
"That proves it. Liars always deny they are liars!"

Kafka Traps seem to work because they are circular, thus evidence-free, thus unfalsifiable. You can expose the fallaciousness of Kafka Traps by making some simple substitutions, e.g.,:

"You are a jelly donut!"
"No, I am not."
"That proves it. Jelly donuts always deny they are jelly donuts!"

Now consider this argument:

" You are a racist!"
"No, I am not."
"That proves it.  Racists always deny they are racists!"

This argument that all white people are racists has been employed by Robin DiAngelo:

Yes, all white people are complicit with racism. There will be umbrage and upset. People will insist that they are not racist. That I don't know them ... 'I've traveled a lot. I speak lots of languages ... I had a Black roommate in college. I'm a minority myself.' This is the kind of evidence that many white people used to exempt themselves from that system. It's not possible to be exempt from it.

These Kafka Traps are fact-free pseudo-arguments that remind me of St. Anselm's alleged proof for the existence of God ("That than which nothing greater can be conceived") and St. Thomas Aquinas' Contingency proof for the existence of God ("even if the Universe has always existed, it still owes its existence to an uncaused cause. The only thing missing from these three fallacious arguments is the word "Abracadabra!"

To escape a Kafka Trap, you can also demand evidence for these extraordinary claims, then (after no evidence is produced) invoke Carl Sagan: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof."

If you are facing an evidence-free claim that you are a racist, simply flip the argument 180 by substituting "maker of false accusations" for "racist":

"You are a maker of false accusations!"
"No, I am not."
"That proves it. Makers of false accusations always deny they are makers of false accusations!"

Continue ReadingRecognizing and Escaping from Kafka Traps

Today’s Insanity, Twitter’s Response

There's so much intellectual incoherence and outright insanity out there in the world. Yes, Twitter is a double-edged sword, but I've been hanging in there these days, using Twitter to help keep my head from exploding. But I'm also having this recurring thought: "If there is a God, I'm assuming that He/She/They are about to hit the reboot button for the universe." Here's a few of today's Twitter happenings:

In reaction to the Trump unhinged and xenophobic speech in Tulsa, "The Lincoln Project" tweeted: "Donald Trump told his administration to slow down testing. Now, 122,000 Americans are dead and coronavirus is rising in dozens of states. This is his legacy."

The rapper Zuby tweeted this response after learning about the "Black Only" zone being maintained in CHAZ/CHOP, Seattle: "Because racial segregation is obviously progressive."

Because we apparently have the inalienable right to tear down public art that offends us, Shaun King (1M followers) tweets: "All murals and stained glass windows of white Jesus, and his European mother, and their white friends should also come down. They are a gross form white supremacy. Created as tools of oppression. Racist propaganda. They should all come down." That leads to this tweet by Finbad the Failer: "You want to destroy religious objects? Does this include Michaelanangelo’s Pieta and other masterpieces from the Renaissance?"

Finally, on Twitter today I learned that Author James R. Flynn was about to publish his newest book, "In Defense of Free Speech: The University as Censor," in which he "critically examines the way universities censor their teaching, how student activism tends to censor the opposing side and how academics censor themselves." Well, Flynn's book was cancelled by the publisher because, according to the publisher, the book might stir up too much trouble. Claire Lehmann (Founding Editor of Quillette) tweets: "For those unaware of who Flynn is: he is the strongest critic of what's called the "hereditarian hypothesis," and the discoverer of the Flynn effect (the observed increase of IQ scores across generations, likely due to improved nutrition & education)."

Continue ReadingToday’s Insanity, Twitter’s Response

Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Discuss the Intersection of Transgendering and Biology

I've been struggling to understand the contours of the recent dispute involving J.K.Rowling's tweets regarding transgendered persons. This issue caught my interest in that I know several people who transitioned and one who is transitioning as a 30 year old adult after being in a marriage. In the process of trying to understand the issues, I've read about a dozen articles from varying perspectives plus hundreds of tweets, many of them claiming to be authored by transgendered persons.

Interestingly, those postings claiming to be authored by transgendered persons seem to be much more sympathetic to J.K. Rowling. Many of the postings on social media are intense reads, leading me to wonder whether there is any way to satisfy all of the sides to the dispute. I doubt it and I think I now better understand why after watching the attached video featuring two evolutionary biologists, Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying. I found their comments on gender ideology and biology quite helpful to understanding these issues. I especially appreciate that their comments are well founded on biology, but also sensitive to the need to treat transgendered persons with kindness. I also appreciate that they both deal head-on with the political aspects of this issue, including the need to recognize over-stepping by the authoritarian left.

Continue ReadingBret Weinstein and Heather Heying Discuss the Intersection of Transgendering and Biology