Re: MD Truth and Understanding and Knowledge

From: David MOREY (us@divadeus.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Tue Feb 10 2004 - 20:16:20 GMT

  • Next message: David MOREY: "Re: MD Truth and Understanding and Knowledge"

    Hi Platt

    That is nice. I think Paul is a real asset to the
    group. I think the use of aesthetic implies something
    about wholeness that is required in a conception ot truth.
    Saying that it is static implies that it is potentially incomplete
    and fallible. New experience will make it lose its aesthetic and
    require replacing in a dynamic way. But maybe it misses something about
    the non-dualistic intuition that is an aspect of truth and is
    non-intellectual.
    Harmony also implies wholeness to me.

    regards
    David M

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Platt Holden" <pholden@sc.rr.com>
    To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
    Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 2:26 PM
    Subject: Re: MD Truth and Understanding and Knowledge

    > Hi David M,
    >
    > Paul Turner has the best understanding of truth that I know:
    >
    > "Truth is the static aesthetic of intellectual harmony."
    >
    > That's hard to beat for "economy of explanation."
    >
    > Regards,
    > Platt
    >
    > > Hi all
    > >
    > > I would like to put forward a position
    > > on truth to see who agrees/disagrees.
    > >
    > > I think we can take truth in a very simple way.
    > > There is only one world, one truth. Is there a cat
    > > behind the wall? Answer: yes or not. Does gravity
    > > pull on bodies according to distance in an inverse
    > > square law? Answer: yes or no. Which hole did the
    > > electron go through? -Well, neither actually, so there
    > > is something wrong with the question.
    > >
    > > Now to have any understanding/knowledge of the truth
    > > requires an appropriate language applied to patterns
    > > that we suspect operate in certain repeating ways.
    > > Hence, all knowledge is a human creation, therefore it
    > > is utterly fallible, and subject to all the epistemological problems
    > > the post modernists suggests. However, the truth remains.
    > > We can test our knowledge against nature, even though nature
    > > is a very elusive conversational partner. She drives us mad.
    > > We cannot just ask is there a cat behind the wall?
    > > She does not answer that question. We can put some milk
    > > behind the wall and nature will give us an empty saucer back.
    > > We might be on to something. We send some mice in and they
    > > rarely make it back again, etc. We build up theories of entities
    > > (cats) and their behaviour under different controlled conditions.
    > > We name things, we describe patterns, and on we go. It can go very
    > > badly wrong, but we make overall progress. After a while we revise
    > > things and discoveer curious entities, maybe a cat-fish that can also
    swim.
    > > And an entity is only a set of patterns under certain conditions, a
    human
    > > being is a certain way of looking at the patterns of a particular
    > > configuration of molecules, and that again as patterns of atoms, or
    going
    > > the other way certain organic material becomes a human and then gets fed
    > > back to bacteria and round the food chain pattern it goes. All different
    > > levels of patterns, all exhibiting the most amazing fullness of
    potential,
    > > from quantum particles to become atoms, to become suns, to become
    > > molecules, to become seas, to become plants, to become food, to become
    > > animals, to become a horse and cart, to become human, to become writing,
    to
    > > become music, to become emotions, etc etc ...
    > >
    > > Agree/disagree?
    > >
    > > regards
    > > David M
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > > MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
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    >
    >
    >
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