CF Dictionary · Critical Rationalism Terms
Tradition (CR)
The cumulative body of inherited, criticisable knowledge. CR treats tradition as essential to piecemeal improvement.
In CR, tradition is the cumulative body of inherited, criticisable knowledge — not authority, not dogma, but the working set of ideas we improve.
"We should make piecemeal improvements to existing knowledge (tradition), rather than revolutionarily try to start over from scratch."
What tradition is
- Knowledge. Best guesses that have survived criticism.
- Public. Sharable, criticisable.
- Inherited. You didn't invent it; you inherited it from prior error correction.
- Open to revision. Each piece is a non-refuted IGC, not a sacred claim.
What tradition is not
- Not authority. "We've always done it" is not a CF argument.
- Not immune to criticism. Every piece can be re-examined.
- Not monolithic. Tradition contains contradictions; CF selects among them.
CF / CR on tradition
CF, with CR, treats tradition as a resource, not a source of truth. You improve tradition by criticism. You don't replace it with revelation.
This connects to open society — institutions that allow criticism of their traditions are more progressive than those that forbid it.