Taleb is an original philosopher, not a historian of ideas, and it would be as churlish to fixate on the errors in his interpretation of Aristotelian causality or Platonic political theory as to correct his occasional sloppiness in describing Christian doctrine. Taleb is bold and takes risks. Incidental errors should be recognized for what they are: inadvertent distractions that may be refined away with time.
Tuesday, January 08, 2019
Thinking soundly …
… Taleb the Philosopher by Joshua P. Hochschild | Articles | First Things. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
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Taleb is certainly a creative, provocative thinker. But he possesses very little genuine knowledge outside of mathematics and finance. When he treads into areas where I have expertise born of training and experience, I find many of his assertions laughable. Attempting to think without knowledge is like trying to swim without water.
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