The Ludicrous Labour

[Angrboda]

The identity coincides with who they are in their minds.

It's interesting to see that we're getting away from the Enlightenment, scientistic idea that for us to consider something true, it must be confirmed through empirical and objective methods. 

Post-modern, post-Enlightenment views give more credence to what an individual mind holds to be true, even absent empirical confirmation.

You're an idiot.

[Belacqua]

Psychology is considered to be science, and typically one has to see a therapist before beginning the transition.

That's true. But seeing a therapist isn't something that confirms truth claims, is it? What objective standards does the therapist use to demonstrate that the person making the claim is in fact the gender they claim to be? 

I remember when I started posting on forums like this one, when the New Atheists were still new. At that time we talked a lot about what distinguishes science from other types of activity. One of the main aspects of science that people pointed to was falsifiability. The idea was that any truth claim must be falsifiable to be scientific, and if it's not falsifiable it's not science. 

Some people were pretty adamant about this, and went so far as to say that unfalsifiable truth claims were meaningless, or "illegitimate." 

At the time I was skeptical about such assertions. I think there may well be ways of speaking true things that are not falsifiable. Not all claims are scientific claims, and not all ways of knowing are science ways. 

Personal claims about gender are obviously not falsifiable. 

If someone who has the type of body which was traditionally associated with being female (boobs, uterus, two X chromosomes, the whole bit) says "I am male," then we accept that. There is no way to demonstrate in a scientific, objective, empirical way that they are not in fact male. So it's not falsifiable, and therefore it's not science. 

So I think we've identified a significant exception to the argument that used to get made so often -- that only falsifiable claims have truth value. Claims concerning a person's gender are to be taken as true, without the ability to show those claims to be false even in theory.

[Kitan Etos]

[Belacqua]

[Kitan Etos]

Absolutely.

[Mr Greene]

Labour still haven't dealt with Momentum, as such they remain a non option.
It's no different than if the Republicans got rid of Trump but left MAGA in place, they would still be fascists.

[A. Secular Human]

[Rev. Rye]

[Belacqua]

"black people are getting stupider." 

Are you sure you want to say that?

Why is that any different than saying "White people are getting stupider"?

It's true.

(I'm an old white person.)

I'd always heard that making a blanket, all-inclusive negative judgment against a minority group of which you are not a member is bad form. 

But maybe manners have changed now.

[Belacqua]