dr_who@umcp-cs.UUCP (08/25/83)
Gary Samuelson's article (bunkerb.226) is mostly correct, although I do not think that the issue is very central (Tom probably does, though). The only correction I would make is that we DO have a way of determining what other people's motives are -- ask them. This method is not guaranteed, but then few methods of finding the fact of ANY matter are GUARANTEED to work. When you ask people, most of them will say that their purposes are partly self-benefit and partly others' benefit. Since this corresponds to their actions, and since we frequently have no reason to suspect that they are being dishonest or are deceiving themselves, I think we have good reason to believe that their statements are true. --Paull Torek, U of MD College Park