Focus on the Quality of the Arguments Rather than the Source of the Evidence
The fallacy of origins and how to be less wrong.
Chris has grown up in an extremely religious family and as a result he grows a strong faith in God as well. Katie’s parents are politically liberal and she has been exposed to many of their arguments. As a result, she shares a lot of typically liberal beliefs. Caleb comes from southern USA and develops the firm conviction that gun ownership should be legal.
Why did Daenarys burn King’s Landing?
“She did it because she totally lost her mind!”
“She did it because she thought it was the right thing to do as it would liberate the city.”
Writing this before the final Game of Thrones episode comes out, I don’t know which one’s correct. But I want you to notice something about the form of these answers to my ambiguous why-question.
The first response gives a causal explanation: someone or something woke the dragon, as her late brother liked to say, this made a switch flip in her mind, and as things went dark inside her had the city was lit on fire.
The second line gives a justifying explanation. It doesn’t answer the why question causally — by telling us how it happened — but explains ‘why’…
