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Edited by Faust IXV:
1/21/2016 8:00:59 PM
23
Perfect is the Enemy of Good
"Perfect is the enemy of good." Is a phrase as old as it gets and has become an English aphorism since Voltaire popularized the term. What this means is that in striving for perfect you will never achieve your goal. It's a term meant to call people back to reality that idealism isn't plausible, and never will be. It reminds me of a Mencken quote that went something along the lines of, "An idealist, upon realizing that roses smell better than cabbage, comes to the conclusion that it would make a better soup."
But back on the original quote, it reminds me of a fallacy that is normally used to counter this idea known as the Nirvana Fallacy. What this fallacy does is it uses another fallacy known as a false dichotomy to pin up the ideal solution and pit it up against any other solution and by nitpicking the other solution simply because it isn't perfect. They fail to acknowledge that we live in the real world and are more or less divorced from reality. I see this fallacy pop up in innumerable debates, but most commonly when it is socialism vs. capitalism. More often than not I see socialists argue that because capitalism doesn't directly help the poor, then it is imperfect and therefore not a good solution to a problem. As though there is always a definitive answer to everything.
This has been a thought tickling my mind as of late and would like some discussion on the topic. Whether it pertains to my specific example or another, anything that you may have to add to the discussion on the topic is appreciated.
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So if idealism is bad, what is your alternative course of action?
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4 RepliesEdited by cxkxr: 1/23/2016 6:02:00 AMCapitalism does help the poor. It has done more to alleviate poverty than anything we have ever seen in the history of the world. There's an old saying, "what causes poverty? Nothing. Poverty is the default state. The question is, what causes prosperity?", freedom causes prosperity.
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4 RepliesIf you removed 1 "o" in the title we would have had a flame war.
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17 RepliesRelevant
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1 ReplyDid you recently watch Sargon of Akkid's new video or something?
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4 RepliesWell hello, what are you doing here? That's an awful lot of big words for the average off-topic user... Come along, back to the bigger and smarter forums with you...
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1 ReplyEdited by Cultmeister: 1/22/2016 11:45:53 PM[quote]More often than not I see socialists argue that because capitalism doesn't directly help the poor, then it is imperfect and therefore not a good solution to a problem. [u]As though there is always a definitive answer to everything. [/u][/quote]You say this like a socialist should just 'suck up' to the failings of capitalism rather than trying to strive for something better. Socialism as the ideal may certainly be unattainable, but that doesn't mean one should be content with a shitty situation, if that's what one thinks of it.
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1 ReplyId rather have someone striving for perfection and failing than accepting the circumstance. What is the point of humanity's continued existence if not to become more?
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1 ReplyThose who shall not work shall not eat. True words that everyone should live by
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"Behind every cynic is a disappointed idealist" - George Carlin
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1 ReplyFalse
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8 RepliesSo I'm the enemy of good?
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3 RepliesSpeak English.
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1 ReplyEdited by Shpip: 1/22/2016 1:42:37 AMNo one will ever achieve perfection, but it would be a shame if we as humans didn't strive to be something more. I think if you always leave conclusions as "good enough", then that's also a flaw. I think it's just about knowing what goal is out of reach once you've already been fighting on that path to perfection. Best possible outcome is key. And you can't get there without trying for perfection. Edit: HOLY SHIT IT'S FAUST. I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE I WROTE THIS ON A FAUST POST! HI!
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1 ReplyBump, good philosophy thread, don't see many of those around
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1 ReplyEdited by K1tty Head: 1/22/2016 1:40:33 AMTwo fallacies I noticed in your argument. The fallacy fallacy, caddying an argument is wrong based on the fact that it was argued poorly or it contained a fallacy. The second was that you begged the question, towards the end, "As if there is a definitive answer to everything." That's assuming that there isn't one, but we don't know whether or not there is one.
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3 RepliesThis was not really worth reading in my opinion
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4 RepliesI don't believe idealism is inherently a bad thing so long as it's coupled with a dose of reality. Yes perfection is unobtainable, but that doesn't mean we should strive to improve.
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3 RepliesTl;Dr
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1 Reply[i] [/i]
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1 Reply
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1 Reply*sargon of akkad intensifies*
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1 ReplySargon of Akkad said this in a video he released yesterday
