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Cartesian metaphors valid for small facts fail on big contested ones

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tagsja-picks, xref, seed, contrarian_or_surprising, trade, corroborated, category/contrarian-or-surprising
aliases@carey_communication_2009, loc. 359

2 min read

Cartesian metaphors valid for small facts fail on big contested ones

Evidence

One does not have to rehearse the well-known phenomenological and ethnomethodological critiques of official records and tables to see in Lippmann the classic fallacy of the Cartesian tradition, to wit: the belief that metaphors of vision, correspondence, mapping, picturing, and representation that apply to small routine assertions (the rose is red; the Cubs lost 7–5; IBM is selling at 67 1/2) will apply equally to large debatable ones. Numbers may picture the stock market, but they will not tell you what is going on in Central America or, alas, what we should do about Eastern Europe. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 359

Categorization

  • XREF: Speaks to modern debates about data journalism and quantification of complex social issues. — connects to: Representation metaphors suited to small assertions fail on large debatable ones; Analogical reasoning fails when negative factual resemblances outweigh positive resemblances — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 593; Logical form and avoiding fallacies remain critical tools of persuasion — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 146 (+6 more)
  • SEED: Angle: what current ‘data-driven’ journalism inherits from Lippmann’s Cartesian fallacy.
  • corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 359

Broader Connections

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