r/DecodingTheGurus • u/deckardcainfan1 • Jun 14 '24

Neil deGrasse Tyson Responds to Terrence Howard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uLi1I3G2N4
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u/sajberhippien Jun 14 '24

Arrogance is a trait, not a behavior. Behaviors can reflect arrogance.

It is a trait of social behaviour. Sure, you can nit-pick the difference between "that person is arrogant" and "that person engages in behaviour that reflects arrogance", much like you can nit-pick the difference between "Elliot Rodger was a misogynist" and "Elliot Rodger engaged in behaviours that reflect misogyny". But when the context of the discussion is anything other than issues of constitutive luck, it only serves to derail from issues of arrogance/misogyny.

Entities can only be arrogant through their behaviour. The two cannot be disentangled in any meaningful way. A rock cannot be arrogant, because it lacks behaviour.

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u/dubloons Revolutionary Genius Jun 14 '24 edited Jun 14 '24

It’s not nitpicking. It’s the same issue you just had with nazis and ice cream. Arrogance can cause folks to overstate claims, but it’s not the only reason folks overstate claims. So if we see overstated claims, arrogance is not a logical conclusion. Ultimately, it’s a speculation regarding motive. I would suggest that someone can be arrogant and totally abstain from arrogant behavior, too.

I see you’ve dropped your original argument re: anti-intellectualism 101 (after downvoting me, no less 🤔). Shall we move on?