[This is a guy who legitimately believed winning a junior varsity regional tennis championship would mean his captain's lifesaving surgery would be successful. MISTAKEN PREMISES EVERYWHERE, BATMAN.]
That's true. I might answer differently if the circumstances of the hypothetical were something a bit more consequential than the presence of a bull in a field. But that still comes back to the same question — is it ultimately the fact that matters, or is it how I came to reach it?
For centuries men believed the sun revolved around the earth. They formed conclusions based on this premise. Eventually, they came to accept that in fact the earth revolved around the sun, because it explained those same conclusions, plus others that the previous model couldn't. But are the conclusions explained by a flawed model any less true than the ones ultimately explained by an accurate one? That depends on if your concern is really with the conclusion, or if it's actually with the model.
audio;
That's true. I might answer differently if the circumstances of the hypothetical were something a bit more consequential than the presence of a bull in a field. But that still comes back to the same question — is it ultimately the fact that matters, or is it how I came to reach it?
For centuries men believed the sun revolved around the earth. They formed conclusions based on this premise. Eventually, they came to accept that in fact the earth revolved around the sun, because it explained those same conclusions, plus others that the previous model couldn't. But are the conclusions explained by a flawed model any less true than the ones ultimately explained by an accurate one? That depends on if your concern is really with the conclusion, or if it's actually with the model.