\chapter{On the queer irrelevance of foundations}

``anti-foundationalist pragmatism''

Foundations are seductive:
you want to get to the bottom of things,
the purest, deepest truths.

This attracted me in college, and I don't think I'm alone.

*metaphysics*!!
(seems important, but often isn't)

Ultimately though, foundations are unsatisfying,
because the most basic fields (math, philosophy, elementary physics)
are ill-founded: math and philosophy essentially, physics practically.
You cannot get to the bottom of things because when you get there,
it's not a solid foundation but a swamp.
Mathematical logic, foundations of philosophy, elementary physics:
these are \emph{simply} other fields of math, philosophy and physics,
concerned with foundational questions
but not for that more interesting.
(Foundations \emph{are} interesting and deep fields,
 but are not of the widespread interest and applicability
 that one may think at first.)

Ultimately every field is built on some other assumptions:
we confront the intellectual form of the existential dilemma,
d'apres Nietzche: we are swinging over the abyss.

However, \emph{this isn't a problem}:
there are interesting and robust theories at various levels.

Racecar drivers don't need to understand engine design;
computer programmers (and users) don't need to understand hardware
design.

Deeper knowledge is enjoyable, and is occasionally useful,
but is not at all necessary: domains of knowledge have
relatively well-defined strata.

don't care about set theory
(rigor did change math in the 19th century,
 but set theory largely hasn't.
 Some cool results in computability)

Chemists needn't care about particle physics:
chemistry is well-enough founded that if one is interested
in question in chemistry, one doesn't care about deeper
layers of foundations.

Sociologists don't need to know about cellular biology

philosophy as ill-founded

[if wanna justify these basic areas,
 need either internal merits or widespread usefulness
 or depth/difficulty;
 "it's basic" is somewhat useful, but not that useful]
