Hi Danila
Thanks for your comments,
I wrote:
Why would intellect want to improve SOCIETY? IMO intellect wants to move us towards a purely intellectual plane of existence. How can it do this by perfecting society? Since we are still in the middle (or perhaps the start) of this transition, it may APPEAR to be seeking to improve society but it seems unlikely for this to be the case by mere definition of the value planes!
DANILA answers:
I personally dread the idea of a world run entirely to conform to INTELLECTUAL value patterns.
First, because for this to happen SOCIAL patterns must be weakened so much that people do not have coherent SOCIAL values to organise themselves to oppose INTELLECTUAL pattern that doesn't work with a better INTELLECTUAL pattern. We already see the INTELLECTUAL value pattern of free markets are a holy thing being imposed in the West, and it hurts more people than it helps IMO but people cannot fight it easily.
Richard
what do you mean the capital markets do more harm than good? the capital markets raise more money in tax for the government to secure the future of it's people. I could go on (for several pages) about the benefits of a free market economy but perhaps you would do me the favour of explaining why they are bad???
Danila:
Second, because even though I agree with Marco that art is just as valuable an INTELLECTUAl value pattern as logical thought (really one is holistic, the other analytic), in practice the INTELLECTUAL value patterns used by political leaders are usually philosophies (political, economic, etc.), not art. They rally the people using artistic symbols (Triumph of the Will) but they reorganize society using doctrine or dogma.<br>
Richard
Politicians don't use intellectual statements, they use statements that will get the most votes at election time. judges make intellectual decisions, they sit above politicians on the intellecual ladder of power (but as a collective) so i'm not sure what your point is. please can you explain further?
<br>
Danila
Third--and I apologize in advance for hurting anyone's feelings--the kind of people who want to intellectualize society, by using analytic INTELLECTUAL value patterns to change the world, tend to see art, intuition and SOCIAL values as unimportant, for weaklings and women. People who think holistically, who value the ability to create art as well as the ability to think logically, who value kind hearts as well as adherence to the truth, do not have the singleminded drive to impose their INTELLECTUAL values on society by weakening SOCIAL values. <br>
Richard
but which is better? the intellectual who strives to make money for him self and by extension the rest of the country or the artist who paints a few pictures every day? also, evolution is based on survival of the fittest so in our discussions on evolutionary metaphysics, if the social values are weakened thats no bad thing. if the intellect can weaken society then doesn't it stake its place as the higher form of existence? why protect society? what's so good about it?
<br>
Danila
Fourth, SOCIAL values are not bad by definition, because they have been shaped by past (good) INTELLECTUAL value patterns.
Richard
No, they have been based on good intellectual patterns biased towards society. you can't chop up intellectual law, look only at the bit that works for the good of society and still call it an intellectual law.
Danila
I think that human cultures are reservoirs of past experiments with INTELLECTUAL infiltration of the SOCIAL level, and that by studying them we can learn about the process: how far it can go, who stops it, who creates it, etc.
Richard
I'm not sure i understand what you mean, can you simplify this for me please (its been a long day :o) )
Thanks for your responses Danila, forgive me if my reply is too brutal it was not intended - i suffer from chronic stress. :o)
Thanks
Richard.
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