Straggler writes:
These cultural factors are going to influence my opinions to a considerable degree and it's probably silly to deny that.
Yup. Where we stand affects what we are able to see.
If we largely fall into line with the cultural norms around us how objective can we really claim to be?
Well we know objectively that no-one is imune from cognative bias. As Percy's opening post says, I judge myself more than averagely objective. (Which is, of course, objectively true :-). But I regularly catch myself trying to dismiss inconvenient evidence without properly considering it.
The difference though is that the cultural norms that I hold dear are the scientific, evidence based processes for establishing fact. That's really all we have that knowledge can grow from.
As far as EVC goes, we know who's normally rational and who's normally not. It gets interesting when you see the normally rational people abandon critical thinking when the subject involves stuff that they irrationally believe in - gun control springs to mind.
But sometimes the arguments here are fake so often it's hard to tell - arguments for arguments sake. It's possible to argue any point at all, no matter how stupid it is, and make it seem rational. No names, no pack drill.
Je suis Charlie. Je suis Ahmed. Je suis Juif. Je suis Parisien.
Life, don't talk to me about life - Marvin the Paranoid Android
"Science adjusts it's views based on what's observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved."
- Tim Minchin, in his beat poem, Storm.