Tag: strategic representation
-
Response to Galen Cuth on Magic & Pragmatism
Galen recently wrote a wonderful response to my “Fool’s Gold” essay, trying to pinpoint where he and I disagree about when it comes to pragmatic theories of representation. This letter won’t make much sense unless you’ve first read his salvo. Epistemic status very much “Fumbling around in the dark”—lots of ideas and discourses invoked that…
-
Epistemic Strategies pt. 2
There is probably no contrast more striking, in the comparison of the mixed-motive and the pure-conflict (zero-sum) game, than the significance of having one’s own strategy found out and appreciated by the opponent. Hardly anything captures the spirit of the zero-sum game quite so much as the importance of “not being found out” and of…
-
All Communication is Manipulation
This essay is the first in a ten-installment series, but can be read as a standalone introduction: All communication is manipulation. Some manipulation is mutually advantageous. Alternatively phrased, the purpose of communication, broadly, is the alteration of others’ actions. Or, Communication is defined by its interest in altering the receiver’s actions. Actions, expressions, and speech…