Executive summary: This post discusses the differences between “high-decoupling” and “low-decoupling” or “contextualizing” approaches to ideas and claims, and argues that the high-decoupling approach, while valuable for science and causal inference, often fails to fully account for the interplay between legal changes and cultural attitudes.
Key points:
High-decouplers isolate ideas from their context, while low-decouplers or contextualizers treat ideas as inseparable from their narratives, associations, and histories.
High-decoupling is important for science and causal inference, but it underrates the feedback between legality and cultural approval.
Most voters are low-decouplers who conflate legal changes with cultural support, so political campaigns often intertwine legal and cultural prescriptions.
When evaluating policy changes like drug legalization or assisted dying, high-decouplers may neglect the cultural impact of the policy change.
While high-decoupling is often correct, democratic politics unavoidably attaches ideas to their associated narratives, groups, and histories.
High-decouplers can convince each other based on evidence, but low-decouplers know that policy pitches come paired with cultural narratives.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: This post discusses the differences between “high-decoupling” and “low-decoupling” or “contextualizing” approaches to ideas and claims, and argues that the high-decoupling approach, while valuable for science and causal inference, often fails to fully account for the interplay between legal changes and cultural attitudes.
Key points:
High-decouplers isolate ideas from their context, while low-decouplers or contextualizers treat ideas as inseparable from their narratives, associations, and histories.
High-decoupling is important for science and causal inference, but it underrates the feedback between legality and cultural approval.
Most voters are low-decouplers who conflate legal changes with cultural support, so political campaigns often intertwine legal and cultural prescriptions.
When evaluating policy changes like drug legalization or assisted dying, high-decouplers may neglect the cultural impact of the policy change.
While high-decoupling is often correct, democratic politics unavoidably attaches ideas to their associated narratives, groups, and histories.
High-decouplers can convince each other based on evidence, but low-decouplers know that policy pitches come paired with cultural narratives.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.