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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:01 pm
Niniva As I have stated....and now you have stated....no logical argument for religion or the existence of God will ever be "proof" in the terms of truth. You cannot logically lead yourself to the truth of the matter about such things as the exact same logical proofs COULD be used to prove the opposite. You and I are saying the same thing. ... So long as the argument is valid.....then it is not chaotic, it is systematic. You are using a system to attempt to "prove" to someone, something....you are saying the system itself isn't flawed, but the substitutions people make for the variables within is not constant. I agree, I just don't see how using a system....provides proof in any form for chaos. ... And this here, only disregards that perhaps there is a unified direction they are headed, meaning that they are all logically valid but they are not sound....sound meaning proving truth. So the direction IS the same...forward. ... Translated into philosophical terms, at best, all you've said is that different religions and points of view happen to come to their conclusions using the same system.....IE: logic, and that it validates their arguments but doesn't confirm their truth, or their Soundness. Just because an argument is convincing and valid does not make it sound....or true, claiming that you've somehow....logically.....proven chaos.....is quite simply misunderstanding both terms. You speak of logic as if it was a virtue in and of itself. You admit that logic can pull us in any direction, if that is the case then that direction is arbitrary. Through logic we do not move into Truth, we just move into more logic. By making a logical argument I can only prove that I have made a logical argument, not that my argument is True. I'm sorry, but that sounds like Chaos to me. In the words of the clown from Twilight Zone, "We're here because we're here because we're here..." The "system", as you put it, is flawed if its only end is confirming that system. This is what Baudrillard spoke of when described the horrors of hyperreality.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:02 am
Niniva Just because an arguement is convincing and valid does not make it sound....or true, claiming that you've somehow....logically.....proven chaos.....is quite simply missunderstanding both terms. That is akin to saying you've discovered a Batchelor who was married. You simply cannot have both. I will admit that once again you have brought me to the same impasse that you always remind me of with my level of nihilism: How can I say that there are no metanarratives when saying "there are no metanarratives" is a metanarrative? But instead of trying to explain myself this time or further relenting the point, I will use this parable in my defense (it is an old one but with a notable twist): 5 Blind Men and an ElephantCan I see the elephant better than anyone else? No. But I can see that none of us are seeing the same thing. And will I exploit people using that knowledge? Hell, yes.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:46 am
whynaut Niniva As I have stated....and now you have stated....no logical argument for religion or the existence of God will ever be "proof" in the terms of truth. You cannot logically lead yourself to the truth of the matter about such things as the exact same logical proofs COULD be used to prove the opposite. You and I are saying the same thing. ... So long as the argument is valid.....then it is not chaotic, it is systematic. You are using a system to attempt to "prove" to someone, something....you are saying the system itself isn't flawed, but the substitutions people make for the variables within is not constant. I agree, I just don't see how using a system....provides proof in any form for chaos. ... And this here, only disregards that perhaps there is a unified direction they are headed, meaning that they are all logically valid but they are not sound....sound meaning proving truth. So the direction IS the same...forward. ... Translated into philosophical terms, at best, all you've said is that different religions and points of view happen to come to their conclusions using the same system.....IE: logic, and that it validates their arguments but doesn't confirm their truth, or their Soundness. Just because an argument is convincing and valid does not make it sound....or true, claiming that you've somehow....logically.....proven chaos.....is quite simply misunderstanding both terms. You speak of logic as if it was a virtue in and of itself. You admit that logic can pull us in any direction, if that is the case then that direction is arbitrary. Through logic we do not move into Truth, we just move into more logic. By making a logical argument I can only prove that I have made a logical argument, not that my argument is True. I'm sorry, but that sounds like Chaos to me. In the words of the clown from Twilight Zone, "We're here because we're here because we're here..." The "system", as you put it, is flawed if its only end is confirming that system. This is what Baudrillard spoke of when described the horrors of hyperreality. Why is it flawed? Because........I'm not following this at all. So it's flawed why? Because it doesn't answer some of the questions people have? If a system is universally used in order to answer any question, just because the roads may appear to be traveling in different directions does not mean that they are. You forget we percieve things in four dimensions and not only one. You assume any singular direction is an acceptable direction but it is not. No singular two dimensional coordinates system is valid either. If a system succeeds in giving us one truth, and that is that it itself is a sound system then.......isn't that some form of truth you are looking for? It sounds to me like you just so desperately want the world to be chaotic and so you hear everything as though it is chaos. A system is not at all flawed if it's final findings are....that the system itself was correct, but that it did not give the answer we had hoped for. That sounds like science. An experiment in science does not "fail" it can "fail to produce the results we expected" but that can also be looked at as "the system worked perfectly, we just found that what we thought was true wasn't" Or "What we discovered was true, and we discovered we need a new hypothesis" Proving truth is impossible, even pure logicians know this, as no matter what proof you have another proof would be necessary to prove that proof. The only thing we can hope to do is prove things incorrect. If it is false then it is false, but we could never know something was false if the system was flawed. We could quite literally know....no....thing. But we do know things. We do not know what is true.....but we certainly know a few things that are not true. How is this Chaos?
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Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:19 pm
Allow me to explain why the system of logic, as you describe it, is flawed using logic. But first, look at this argument and explain why there is a logical fallacy here: Quote: Why should I have faith in God? Because it says to in the Bible.Why should I have faith in the Bible? Because God wrote it.It should be immediately apparent the logic is circular. God proves the Bible which proves God which proves the Bible which proves God which... etc. Neither is proven because, by this logic, neither claim is inherently sound. It is like two men trying to lift the other up on to his shoulders; it can't be done. However, there are some people who are swayed by similar arguments to this one (though perhaps obfuscated much more than this). I consider this chaotic since this means that these people believe in something not for faith or fact, but for no real reason at all except that they are confused. Now let us look at this argument: Quote: Why should have faith in logic? Because it is logical.Here, the ouroboros is wound tighter. Logic proves logic proves logic proves logic proves... etc. It is like one man trying to lift himself on to his shoulders, and equally cannot be done. One the other hand, I could trust logic if it based itself on something more sound. For example: Quote: Why should I have faith in logic? Because it is based on Truth.But that is not what you claim. You claim that logic can only bring about "one truth" within the multitude of truths. This is the same thing as saying "subjective truth", which we both know is not Truth at all. What baffles me is how you feel that logic can justify itself in such a manner? As if, just by using logic, something becomes instantly valid. That is like putting random junk into random boxes and then claiming that it is "organized now". No, it is still random junk, it is just in boxes now. With pure objective Truth, there would be only one of it by its very nature. It may be seen in various ways, but there would only be one Real Truth. This is what I believe Chaos is. Chaos is reality in its pure, incomprehensible, amorphous, and constantly changing nature. And because no one person can understand it or pin it down (because it cannot be pinned down) we prescribe our own subjective views on to Chaos and futilely try to make it fit inside our own box, or as you call it, "truth". -----------------------------------------------------
From our discussions I have realized about myself that I desperately want to know Truth and in reality abhor the idea of Chaos. I really feel helpless about the ideas of nihilism as well, though of course I am too a nihilist. I remember Socrates trying to disprove the Oracle at Delphi who claimed, "No one is wiser than Socrates". He would question experts on the nature of truth to prove that there were men out there who were wiser than him. But through decisive questioning the "wise" men would only ever reveal that they really knew nothing at all. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am trying to find someone who can prove me wrong. Someone who can point at Truth, and say, "here it is. You cannot mistake it for anything else." Unlike everyone else, I cannot just put my faith in an arbitrary truth (or else nihilism is the closest thing I can do this with). Sadly, I am realizing that there may by no one who will be able to do this, and that I may be right about meaninglessness.Socartes from [u]Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers[/u] I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.
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Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:43 pm
That is because you are thinking about it the wrong way. Your biblical arguement is actually one I use to piss off my classmates in college (I got to a Christian University)
But your logical argument is quite simply incorrect.
Logic is true, because......you quite simply cannot possibly think any other way.
We call this a priori. It exists as you way of cognition and learning behavior before experiencing the world. Logic doesn't prove itself, it just simply is because it is the only way it COULD be.
If you can think of another way the world could work....as in one that is not casual in any way, or illogical or irrational then please by all means, let me have it. I'd bet you can't though. People have been trying for thousands of years and no one has ever been able to. Thus, logic simply is. The system doesn't give us much accept a bunch of inference rules, which aren't very informative but it does one thing that you cannot deny.....gives us a system by which to think about everything else.
As for the rest of what you said, I quote wittgenstein:
"For doubt can exist only where a question exists and a question exists only where an answer exists, and an answer only when something CAN be said.
We see that even when all POSSIBLE scientific questions have been answered, the problems of life remain completely untouched. Of course there are then no questions left, and this itself is the answer.
The solution of the problem of life is seen in the vanishing of the problem. (Is not this the reason why those who have found after a long period of doubt that the sense of life became clear to them have then been unable to say what constituted that sense?)
There are indeed things that cannot be put into words. They make themselves manifest. They are what is mystical.
The correct method in Philosophy would really be the following: To say nothing except what can be said, i.e. propositions of natural science- i.e. something that has nothing to do with Philosophy- and then, whenever someone else wanted to say something metaphysical, to demonstrate to him that he failed to give a meaning to certain signs in his propositions. Although it would not be satisfying to the other person-he would not have the feeling that we were teaching him philosophy-this method would be the only strictly correct one.
My propositions serve as elucidations in the following way: anyone who understands me eventually recognizes them as nonsensical, when he has used them-as steps- to climb up beyond them. (He must, so to speak, throw away the ladder after he has climbed up it.) He must transcend these propositions, and then he will see the world aright.
What we cannot speak about we pass over in silence."
Thats the end of his Tractatus. I can't tell you exactly what he meant, but in there, there are mirrors of what you seek. Truth does exist, but it is a metaphysical principle....those questions that cannot be asked because they have no empirical answer. Since you cannot give an empirical answer then you cannot ask the question.
That, however, does not mean there are not things out there that you could never possible describe. That is what people who have found it laugh about when asked what they've found. They cannot answer because the answer is indescribable.
Personally I have come to the conclusion that while we as philosophers seek knowledge, I have discovered that the only things we can know for certain are those things which are NOT the case, and if there are things that are not...in fact....the case, then there are not infinite possibilities. Now I am quite aware that this is not satisfactory to you perhaps, but for me, I've realized what is going on in Philosophy is much like what goes on in the world of science, we may not be able to find a perfect Infallible Truth, but we can certainly make our best attempt to weed out those things which are quite clearly false to give us a more accurate vision of what might actually be the case.
So, can I give you Truth? No. But one thing I have learned is that learning which questions cannot be answered without some kind of faith, having that faith, and knowing it very could well be wrong....is perfectly ok.
Am I ok with uncertainty about these things? Yes, because that uncertainty grants me one other definitive Truth that cannot be denied. I know for certain at least one thing.....I know that I am not certain...and I'm ok with that.
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