From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Sat Apr 19 2003 - 14:14:53 BST
Matt:
> Are you saying, as a democratic citizen, you don't care what the group
> thinks?
As I've been pointing out all along, your question reveals the postmodern
mindset which focuses almost exclusively on group identities (citizen)
and politics (democratic). The major difference between you and me is
that I rarely think in those terms at all.
Factually, I'm not a citizen of a democracy. A democracy without
representative government, restrained by checks and balances, is mob
rule. I happen to be a citizen of a constitutional republic where my rights
as a free individual are guaranteed by laws, not by street protesters. The
only group thinking I care about politically is that done by the justices of
the Supreme Court. They alone can strip away my rights and have done
so in the past as, for example, granting government the power to tax
incomes.
In all other cases, especially when it comes to philosophy, I could care
less what the group thinks. My truths are not determined by
"intersubjective agreement." I do not need to check with my neighbor to
see if he agrees with me about the importance of Plotinus.
My truths are based on whatever intellectual patterns I deem to be high
quality. Likewise, your truths. But, unlike you, I think it's nice if others
agree with me, but not necessary.
Having said that, I recognize for a society to survive it must agree on
what criteria it's going to use to establish what's true and what isn't.
That's the supreme value of objectivity--a truth dependent on what's "out
there." Everyone (nearly everyone) can agree that "out there" is a tiger
who poses a danger to the tribe. On such "objective truths" the survival
of the tribe depends.
By denying such objective truths exist at all, postmodernism eats away
at society's foundation.
Platt
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