Comment Re:Postmodernism causes unfounded scepticism. (Score 2) 398
(warning: off-topic)
I think that postmodernism is the root cause of many of todays 'lunatic fringe' phenomena.
And I think that the cult of objectivity has been the root cause of thousands of years of human tragedy. The truth is a constant, fluid concept which we constantly redefine -- or do you still think that the "objective truth" of a flat earth is worth hanging to defend?
Alternatively, have you ever read Aristotle's defense of slavery? Nazi reasoning for the Holocaust? Documents of religious indoctrination? . . . etc: All are based on the assumption of The One True Truth. Hogwash, I say.
'Facts' are no longer believed in, and people think they can come up with all sorts of idiotic ideas.
. . . like quantum physics, or relativity (Einstein, not moral), or chaos, or visiting the moon...
In this case we have the usual conspiracy theorising and reliance on big bad men with lots of power and a desire to hoodwink the public.
Au contraire: those who are trying to hoodwink the public are those who are promoting their ideas as the 'one true way': fundies, libertarians, tyrants, the politburo... (Yes, that was a troll. Flame away, libbies!) What better way to propogate an ideology than by refusing to admit the existence, let alone validity of alternatives?
When I'm writing software, it's obvious I can't model the 'Truth.' So I try to pick and choose a decent-enough model to achieve my goals -- but it will never be a True model. It's an approximation, and that's the best we can do, when programming or when thinking. To forget that is to lose touch with reality, and to fall down the slippery slope of dogma. (Or, two release cycles later, really krufty code.)
There is such a thing as irrefutable fact,
Au contraire, all facts are refutable. See? Look, I'm refuting you. Nyaaah!
Further reading:
and lots more; those are just what comes to the top of my head. (Zen.. I read recently. Great book, especially for coders/technical folk.)
I think that postmodernism is the root cause of many of todays 'lunatic fringe' phenomena.
And I think that the cult of objectivity has been the root cause of thousands of years of human tragedy. The truth is a constant, fluid concept which we constantly redefine -- or do you still think that the "objective truth" of a flat earth is worth hanging to defend?
Alternatively, have you ever read Aristotle's defense of slavery? Nazi reasoning for the Holocaust? Documents of religious indoctrination? . . . etc: All are based on the assumption of The One True Truth. Hogwash, I say.
'Facts' are no longer believed in, and people think they can come up with all sorts of idiotic ideas.
. . . like quantum physics, or relativity (Einstein, not moral), or chaos, or visiting the moon...
In this case we have the usual conspiracy theorising and reliance on big bad men with lots of power and a desire to hoodwink the public.
Au contraire: those who are trying to hoodwink the public are those who are promoting their ideas as the 'one true way': fundies, libertarians, tyrants, the politburo... (Yes, that was a troll. Flame away, libbies!) What better way to propogate an ideology than by refusing to admit the existence, let alone validity of alternatives?
When I'm writing software, it's obvious I can't model the 'Truth.' So I try to pick and choose a decent-enough model to achieve my goals -- but it will never be a True model. It's an approximation, and that's the best we can do, when programming or when thinking. To forget that is to lose touch with reality, and to fall down the slippery slope of dogma. (Or, two release cycles later, really krufty code.)
There is such a thing as irrefutable fact,
Au contraire, all facts are refutable. See? Look, I'm refuting you. Nyaaah!
Further reading:
- Bertolt Brecht, Galileo
- James Gleik, Chaos
- Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
and lots more; those are just what comes to the top of my head. (Zen.. I read recently. Great book, especially for coders/technical folk.)
