Agree. in this case he entirely misses that the aggressively conventional are serving a purpose that’s incredible important. This is classic stuff going back to the Tower of Babel, and theories about conservatives vs liberals functions in society (ie disruptives and preservationists).
After reading The Righteous Mind (best book of the decade, IMO) and generally gaining an appreciation for how blind we are to how good we have it (the aggressively independent types moreso, they are chronically unsatisfied and in a way pessimistic about progress, blind to the incredible luxury we live in now), I find myself really understanding the role and purpose of the conventionistas in society and I’m glad for them! They are the buffer between the woke mobs, they fight to keep the system from moving around too wildly. They are wrong of course (heresy is a good example), but so are the unsatisfied independents as well.
Not that these map perfectly. There are many conservative independents and vice versa, but your main thrust on pg generally:
1. Defining things so they create categories for people, usually framing it for some self-serving purpose
2. Putting himself in the good category and spending very little time thinking over why the “bad” one may not be so bad.
Really hits home.
Side note: I found his last essay on Orthodoxy Privilege to be a real stinker. That he felt the need to write about “privilege” of which he is gluttonous, and use it as a chance to redefine privilege to his ends, was an impressive level of dissonance.
As a scientist, the idea that "To be a successful scientist, for example, it's not enough just to be right. You have to be right when everyone else is wrong." Struck me as ludicrous, and scientists that I know that think like this usually seem more concerned with self aggrandization than discovery. I wonder if your point #2 is actually really profound. Maybe the important axis is not "conformity", but empathy? Kids that lack aggressively the ability or patience to understand rules break them, scientists that agressively understand other people's ideas are able to build on them or move beyond them, etc...
After reading The Righteous Mind (best book of the decade, IMO) and generally gaining an appreciation for how blind we are to how good we have it (the aggressively independent types moreso, they are chronically unsatisfied and in a way pessimistic about progress, blind to the incredible luxury we live in now), I find myself really understanding the role and purpose of the conventionistas in society and I’m glad for them! They are the buffer between the woke mobs, they fight to keep the system from moving around too wildly. They are wrong of course (heresy is a good example), but so are the unsatisfied independents as well.
Not that these map perfectly. There are many conservative independents and vice versa, but your main thrust on pg generally:
1. Defining things so they create categories for people, usually framing it for some self-serving purpose
2. Putting himself in the good category and spending very little time thinking over why the “bad” one may not be so bad.
Really hits home.
Side note: I found his last essay on Orthodoxy Privilege to be a real stinker. That he felt the need to write about “privilege” of which he is gluttonous, and use it as a chance to redefine privilege to his ends, was an impressive level of dissonance.