Hi David Lind:
> Platt wrote:
> > No scientist I know of (or for that matter any human being with a
> modicum of sense) will deny the absolute truth of the Holocaust. Or
> of
> deaths caused by AIDS. Or the danger of standing on the tracks in
> front of an oncoming train. Life is lived in a sea of absolutes,
> beginning with birth and ending with death.
>
> David Lind inquires:
>
> Which absolute truth of the Holocaust? That it happened? The
> reasons
> that Hitler pursued it? The reasons that it was able to eliminate
> millions of human beings? And as far as danger in standing in front
> of a train on the tracks, at what point does it become dangerous? 50
> feet? 10 feet? 1 foot? At five hundred (or more) feet it may be
> more exciting to a thrill seeker than dangerous (after all, they have
> time to jump off before it gets to them). And deaths caused by
> AIDS...is it AIDS that causes the death or does AIDS create a
> situation likely to result in death?
>
> Not trying to be a smart alec - seriously inquiring to see your take
> on these thoughts.
Thanks for picking up on my lack of precision. Let me amend my
statements to:
. . . the absolute truth that the Holocaust happened
. . . many have died as a result of contacting AIDS
. . . the potential danger of in standing on the tracks in front of an
oncoming train
I’m aware there’s value in thought experiments and fuzzy logic to
legitimately question claims of absolute truth . My point is that the
existence of absolute truth is implied whenever one makes a
declarative sentence such as, “Not trying to be a smart alec - seriously
inquiring to see your take on these thoughts.” Otherwise, the essential
social cement of honesty and trust would disintegrate and we would be
in the position of the speaker in the following Moroccan proverb:
You tell me you are going to Fez.
Now, if you say you are going to Fez,
This means you are not going.
But I happen to know you are going to Fez.
Why are you lying to me who are my friend?
Perhaps “absolute truth” carries too much baggage. Is “transcendental
truth” more meaningful to you? Or a Platonic sort of “ideal truth” as in
“the Good, the True and the Beautiful?” If I fail to convey my meaning
plainly, the fault is mine. Please come back at me again if puzzled, or
simply disagree.
Platt
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