I'm Out of the Cave!
Plato's Cave
Plato's Cave Illustration
Done some remodeling while you were gone. Thought I'd come out into the open and let the sunlight of truth shine for all to see!!!
I'm still working on it since I lost my links while changing over. Logicians can be dumb sometimes. So check out the links and become enlightened by one of the great giants of all time, one who's shoulders we stand on today. Go ahead. You'll be better for it! besides, it gives you rest from the rantings of lunatics in the media.
When you return, let me know what you think about the following:
1. What does the cave represent?
2. What is the meaning of the liberated man's ascent, being dragged reluctantly upwards?
3. What is the meaning of the sun?
4. Why is it reasonable for the liberated man to pity the imprisoned?
5. Why would it be reasonable for the imprisoned to detest the liberated man who returned?
No prizes will be awarded except the priceless benefit of enlightenment!
posted by Underground Logician @ 4:35 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
hey, logician. i didn't read the cave thing, but just wanted to say that i really like this new template a whole lot more than the old one. from dark to light ... was the design change symbolic of coming out of the cave?
TS:
The design change reminded me of Plato's cave, not that I just recently came out. I think there are MILLIONS and MILLIONS of cave dwellers who need to study the sciences, primarily, the science of first things, or metaphysics to get out of the cave.
If they did, we wouldn't be wrangling over human fetuses and tumors being "of human" until the 8th week of gestation. It's deplorable.
So I thought it is better for people to see the font easier than go with the all black cool feeling. Feelings are not a good guide for us. Reason is.
Hey LM!
Yes it is true. Words are merely symbols with no objective reality attatched to them,...except the words, "words are merely symbols with no ojbective reality attatched to them." Those are constructivistic terms. Hey wait, "Those are constructivistic terms" are constructivistic terms too. Wait! "Hey wait!" is constructivistic also. There's more...
Deconstructionism...ABSOLUTE IDIOTIC...the "white-trailer-trash- philosophy" of our time.
Mental Hogwash. LM, you pressed one of my "stupid philosophy" hot-buttons.
Hey, thanks for the commments.
I'm glad you included those on the right also. There is a pervasive fundementalism, particularly among Protestants, and a few Catholics, that hold to an attitude that is antithetical to logic; because something is written, like Scripture, then it must be true. If that be the case, the Q'uran has to be true.
"No, God didn't write the Quran," fundies say. "He wrote the Bible."
How do you know?
"The Bible says so."
All this stemming from the infamous idea of Martin Luther, "Logic is the devil's whore." Unfortunately, he had to communicate that in propositional form, which is a part of logic, for those of you who live in Berkeley.
You can try to run from the Common Master, but you can't hide. You can deny him, but you have to use his methods to deny him, which becomes utter nonsense.
TS: I'm still contemplating the thought of explaining my conversion to the Catholic Church. I need to get "prayed up" so to speak, so that it'll have the greatest impact with the greatest amount of resistance! I don't want to create resistance from my inborn stupidity. That's why I am delaying.
Sam, I know this is off topic, but I have to ask. Why is it that seemingly all liberal "intellectuals", attack any subject by analyzing it to such boring and mind numbing minutia that anyone within earshot immediately zones out or falls asleep, or in worse case, spend the rest of their lives wondering the streets as zombies?
And why is it conservative "intellectuals" spend all their time in rhetorical exercise, answering question with question till they sound like Frank Gorshen playing The Riddler on lsd, scaring the bejeebers out of the women folk and children and inciting the menfolk to search out pitchforks and torches?
Most people are pragmatists. They are not interested in questions like, if it all started with the implosion of a hydrogen atom, where did that atom come from? Did God create the atom? IS God a hydrogen atom? Is the god of this universe the god of all universes?
99.9% of the people don't give a rats ass about such esoteric questions. Most people are simply interested in progress, leaving a bit better society and world than they inherited. They are not altruistic, they selfishly want these things so their children can carry their genes forward. If you truly want to get your message out, you might consider finding ways to make it simple, straightforward, and logically progressive. In other words, show people how your ideas add up to progress, not regress.
Just an observational rant!
p.s. I really like the new look of your blog. Much more inviting!
Great question!
The average Joe hasn't the disposition to handle the philosophical side of things. You're right, they want to do the "life" thing and hope to pass on to their kids a legacy and an inheritance that will give them the boost they need. So they don't ask the questions that the intelligencia are asking.
The danger is, that whatever the prevailing philosophy of our culture, the language of that culture does the thinking for us if we are not in tune with that philosophy. Words, phrases, slogans are frought with messages and "meta" messages that conveys certain meaning. So when someone says with a thick twang "Getter dun," we think of Larry the Cable Guy. More seriously, people will often say, "That is your truth, and I have mine." They're not thinking "I am speaking as a moral relativist. I do not believe that truth is objective, blah, blah, blah." There saying with that statement, "Get off my ass you arrrogant S.O.B.!" And they get pissed when someone challenges their statement. They want to do what they want to do; they want no advice that will show them different.
That Bear, is the objective of the Sophists of our day, which is why the life of Socrates is so relevant to us today. He saw the Sophists as pretenders of wisdom, who used people to spread their flawed and fallacious teaching, and get paid for it to boot. The modern day Sophists, be they liberal or conservative, are very similar. They communicate and teach others to communicate so as to achieve objectives, not necessarily to pursue the truth. The truth is important only in that it helps them achieve their ends. And, liberals haven't a corner on sophistry, this is a human tendency. They teach rhetorical devices to manipulate others, or to steer or coerce others, or to affect public opinion. Man, look at advertising! You never see or hear product advertisers say, "New Fantastic Orange Action cleaner cleans and sanitizes all surfaces, if you can get the squirter to work." Or, "Here at Schwab investments, we want to use your money to get really rich, and share a small percentage to you."
And so this blog. I think it's imperitive for me to help people make the connect between what they do and the philosophy behind it. The greatest tragedy we face today is the issue of abortion. A very practical topic of course, and wrapped around this issue is a tightly woven sophistry of expediency and moral relativism. The whole issue of first things, or metaphysics, comes into play when determining what the fetus is. Is it human or not? If not, there is no issue; if so, abortion is murder. Very practical indeed. So when on this website someone makes the assertion that the fetus before the first eight weeks is similar to a tumor in that it is "of human" is of extreme importance.
I think it is the job of those who have knowledge to help those who do not have knowledge to see the connect between the philosophical and the practical; and do it in a manner that engages them, rather than putting them to sleep. That is the whole purpose of my getting a Ph.D.
GWB:
Thanks for the compliment. I hope it works well for all who come. I aim to please, within a small field of criteria!
Okay, did anyone READ the cave?
I wanted to know what you thought of it. I included questions to help formulate your thoughts and conclusions. Come on, you guys, you can read NASCAR, Blame Bush, or Democratic Underground later and have no essential change in your thinking.
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