Since Todd, as he’s noted elsewhere, feels that he and MM “seem to define: reason, belief, knowledge, and similar abstracts somewhat differently, and [that] we keep going back to arguments where those terms are central, it is tremendously difficult to discuss these things with you and I feel as if we most often talk past each other,” and therefore that “it costs more time and effort perhaps than it is worth,” perhaps I can provide how Todd might have responded if he had not already reached that inescapable conclusion:

Yes Margaret, I can see how it would seem ridiculous to you b/c that’s what you truly believe—you believe, Margaret, whatever it is you believe, b/c, as you explain in your “emotion theory of behavior choice,” “one can believe only whatever makes one “feel good,” and one then “uses [their] brains to justify it”; and, as you now elaborate here, a “decision module” then implements behavior based on those beliefs.

However Margaret, and although I certainly appreciate your efforts and patience in elaborating on your “emotion theory of behavior choice,” I now feel that since we seem to define reason, belief, knowledge, and similar abstracts somewhat differently, we’re going back to arguments where those terms are central, and it therefore remains tremendously difficult to discuss these things with you, and I feel as if we will continue to talk past each other, and therefore that it costs more time and effort than it is worth, although I still certainly appreciate your efforts and patience.

kind regards,
Todd