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Re: proofs and people
On Sun, 30 Dec 2001, Kelvin Bailey wrote:
> --- "Peter T. Chattaway" <petert at interchange_ubc.ca> wrote:
> > > But they would only be bloodthirsty, stupid, neurotic and
> > > masochistic from your perspective.
> >
> > Not so. The phenomenon is what it is, no matter who observes it or
> > how.
>
> Bloodthirsty, stupid, neurotic and masochistic (at least in the sense
> they were originally offered in this discussion) are not objective
> phenomenon - in the sense that gravity, 7, or photosynthesis are
> considered to be.
I was referring to "the rules" when I said "the phemonenon" is what it is.
As for terms like "bloodthirsty" and "neurotic", etc. -- well, these are
words that we have come up with to describe objectively observed
phenomena, just like the words "gravity", "7", and "photosynthesis".
It may be that our observations are incorrect, in which case we need to
keep observing. But if "bloodthirsty" or "neurotic" describes a certain
kind of behaviour, and if anyone claims (for whatever reason) that God
behaves in a manner that is consistent with those kinds of behaviour, then
a duck is a duck and that person's God is "bloodthirsty" and "neurotic".
> > So, we could publicly agree upon a definition of "bloodthirsty", or
> > "stupid", or "neurotic", or "masochistic", and then, once we've
> > arrived at those definitions, we can see how the observed theology
> > fits those terms.
>
> Well, I guess there's my caveat. We don't publicly agree on things like
> stupid and bloodthirsty. I think Radiohead borders on stupid. Others
> here certainly don't.
I would say you're starting at the wrong end, then.
Rather than define "stupid" as "Radiohead and anything which resembles it
too closely", or whatever, why not come up with a more objective
definition -- one that has no need of Radiohead for a reference point?
Once you've done that, it *may* turn out that Radiohead still matches your
definition of "stupid", and you may be able to convince people of that, if
you and they have already agreed on a definition of "stupid" -- but first
you have to demonstrate to them that you're not loading the dice.
Ditto for "bloodthirsty" and the other terms.
--- Peter T. Chattaway --------------------------- peter at chattaway_com ---
"I detected one misprint, but to torture you I will not tell you where."
Winston Churchill to T.E. Lawrence, re Seven Pillars of Wisdom
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