Hey there Steve,
You sound a bit like Paul Tillich, one of my favorite "Christian"
existentialists. Given that we all believe in some "revealed truth/s" be they
"facts" or "constructs" (and I would argue constructs of facts" we still
reside in an individually/socially constructed world. I think we can all
pretty much agree that we reside on this planet (ok ok SOME have been
abducted by aliens a time or two, and few priviliged folks got to see tha
planet from the other side of the moon) the ONE thing we all seem to *do*
with that is attempt to *persuade* others of what truth/s is/are. and if we
ALL agree on one thing, lets say for the fun of it, that this planet is
really is an experimental petrie dish, where someTHING is growing a planet
virus called homo sapien sapien.
Deep gasp for breath here.....
THEN we are still gonna argue bout the "so what" of it. Some will wanna
become the best damn virus on any planet. Some will wanna self destruct.
Most of the virii will be somewhere tween those extremes. And, having decided
on what it means to be virus, the virii will wanna infect all the other virii
with their agenda. Now the virii may or may not be able to do so. They are
just the lab virii though, so they will NEVER know. But determining the "so
what" on an individual and social (group virus?) level, defining the "who
cares" question, is what thinking virii seem to want (or perhaps need) to
do. The petrie dish could be attended by god/s, or just some lab rat; the
petrie dish could/might/might not have some grand causal purpose in the
universe. Some virii might know they are in fact in a petrie dish inna
lab, watched over. Some might not. Some might call the lab rat/god/s
"author," Some might even start to discuss what's in the lab rat/god/s'
lab book, thinking that may help them to decide. Some, having accertained
there might/might not be such a tome, will start to argue about WHAT the
lab book says. How it is written. the translation, the medium used. But
those darn virii will argue and contend.
Of course, could be some wee kid of a lab assistant just making a toy to
play with....dunno. There goes causistry. argh! The rest is rhetoric....
Janet
weirder by the day....
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There are now-a-days professors | DaMOO
of philosophy but not philosophers. | http://lrc.csun.edu:8888
Thoreau | or
| telnet lrc.csun.edu 7777
Janet Cross |
hceng028@csun.edu |
Learning Resource Center | www.csun.edu/~hceng028/MOO.html
Cal State University, Northridge |
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