What is the Knobe Effect? | Concepts Ep. 3

#philosophy #KnobeEffect #experimental

Joshua Knobe is one of the leading figures in a fairly new movement in philosophy called "experimental philosophy". This study laid much of the groundwork for future research in this field - so he clearly deserves having an effect named after him (even though he is too humble himself to accept that).

References:

[1] Knobe, Joshua. 2003. “Intentional Action and Side Effects in Ordinary Language.” Analysis 63 (279): 190–94.

[3] Feltz, Adam. 2007. “The Knobe Effect: A Brief Overview.” The Journal of Mind and Behavior 28 (3/4): 265–77.

[inxendere]

idk what new changes were made to the youtube algorithm but so many smaller channels have been showing up in my feed lately and I love it. Keep up the good work! sub earned.

[chandler]

That's fascinating! I thought "unequivocally, yes, he would be responsible for improving it, too, " and was surprised to learn most people say no. Why? Why, though? Is the Knobe Effect a name for nothing more than the weight of the bias preferring the distribution of blame over symmetry?

[-by-_Publishing_LLC]

The problem with the Knobe Effect scenario is that both money-making proposals only offered a *single option.* What if the business owner was offered two proposals where the same amount of money can be made, but one proposal harmed the environment and the other helped the environment? If the same amount of money can be made either way, then logic states that the owner should choose the proposal that would result in the most positive results.

Even if he "flips a coin" and allows fate to make the decision, he is intentionally either harming or helping the environment based on how the coin lands. It's intentional, because he still possessed the power to decide either way.

[whycantiremainanonymous]

Was the music choice at 2:20 intentional? Were you hinting that the CEO helped the environment in a *Roundabout* way?

[iisig]

If we bring in a moral component then it makes more sense. As we tend to make more moral decisions (generally speaking), doing something harmful seems more like something that has to be actively overcomeand doing something that brings benefits more like something that helps you to legitimise the original goal.
Even if in both cases there is no care for the consequences, overcoming that care not to cause harm takes more of an active effort.
Just how i feel about this problem.

[davethomasatemyhamster]

What the chairman didnt not realise was that the way to maximize the profits was, to kill the said chairman in a way that was not suspicious, claiming on the life insurance policy which was over 100 million dollars. The harm to the environment was, of course, the carbon that was released when he was turned to ashes 😁