Originally Posted by
AngloJewess
The dream argument addresses the inherent limitations of empiricism. We are able to minimize these limitations by formalizing our reasoning, which can be done by abstracting what we perceive.
With Descartes's Demon it is no longer possible to ensure effective deduction by developing an abstract structure to represent what one perceives. If we can not control our thoughts we can not abstract our perceptions.
However even though we may not be able to abstract from our perceptions, the demon still can. In the proposed situation the demon would have powers of rationality while the possessed would not.
You could think of it in levels. Perception is at the bottom, than comes thought or cognition, and at the top comes the Demon or controlling force. Abstraction brings you up one level, but not two (otherwise the separation between you and the demon becomes hard to define). The Demon's perceptions are your cognitive state as that is his external experience. From those perceptions he can form an abstract structure that is beyond your comprehension.
Thus using abductive reasoning we can determine that the best option for arriving at the correct answer is to follow with the demon's will. If you resist the demon there is a negligible chance to arrive at the correct answer, while if you follow through with the demon the answer is coming from a force capable of higher reasoning and thus is actually capable of arriving to an answer deliberately. With a random selection the probability at any given answer is equal and as the number of possible answers the demon has may be infinite the probability that the demon will choose the correct answer is negliable , while with a deliberate selection on the other hand the distribution will be certain to be unequal (because of deduction on part of the demon eliminating answers which he fits unreasonable.) and thus the amount of possible answers will be finite and thus the chance that the Demon will provide the correct answer will possibly be greater. That is what the abduction is based on.
I think it would be reasonable to say that rationality is only possible if one has the capability to abstract. You have to be able analyze based on a structure that is separate from your direct experiences in order to view your experiences objectively.
The higher level structure is the only thing that can judge lower levels and the lower levels must always be doubted over higher levels.
That is my take on these thought experiments.
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