An Unexpected Conversation With a Boy Genius: What Are The Limits of Science?
This is one of Peter’s favorite conversations.
In Regent’s Park, London, Peter Boghossian conducted a Spectrum Street Epistemology with two children, a twelve-year-old boy and his younger sister. Peter began with claims about science, a topic both children preferred. After the young man demonstrated an extraordinary intellect, Peter upped the ante, presenting complicated claims regarding the limits of science and its relationship to morality and emotion.
At the end of the discussion, Peter asked the young man if he would rather have a life guided by reason or emotion. He responded, “If you just have cold, hard reason without any emotion and human feeling, what does that make you? You won't be able to make kind decisions; you'll just be essentially a robot.”
Pehaps he could be persuaded to give a lecture to the WEF?
A wonderful exchange that many adults could take a lesson from. Highly relevevant to today's culture wars in the US where feelings are dominating reason in far too many domains. As is said, "from the mouths of babes" [or twelve year olds]. A real keeper