From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Mon Jan 13 2003 - 16:47:37 GMT
Hi Patrick, John:
Patrick wrote::
> But according to Aquino (in
> Hoogveld's and my reading), a better description would be not 'creating',
> but 'steering of nature in a particular direction'. This is true because we
> can leave the raw stone as it is, or we can choose to transform it into a
> sculpture. Either way, the possibility of choosing this or that is
> determined by God's power: we can't create the stone, we only can mold it.
> Causal explanations denote the path of how stones or (any thing) are molded
> in history. But the experience that we find a stone in reality at all; this
> is simply given (although the stone has a history of itself of course, and
> is 'created' in the history of the earth. But this is causal thinking at
> work again).
I find this fascinating because I'm working an idea that uses "beauty" as
a determinant of values rather than MoQ rationality or other factors such
as subjectivity, or solidarity, power, etc. Nature's (God's) values that
created us, expressed in nature's beauty, were created for the purpose
of our "steering of nature (future evolution) in a particular direction,"
guided by our beauty instinct as expressed in sculpturing a stone and
other works of art. My "theory" is in the incubation stage, but the
Aquino quotation and your explanation struck a responsive chord.
Thanks.
> This philosophy is perfectly understandable, because if you
> assume that causal explanations are the only way to 'explain' reality, you
> can leave the consciousness as a phenomenon out of the story: it's
> therefore an epiphenomenon.
Well, no. Because without consciousness you wouldn't have an
explanation or a story. This is similar to the problem of "objectivity" in
science where it is presumed that the scientist isn't part of the picture
he is observing--not only a false assumption but insufferably arrogant .
John:
> > The only thing I can't tolerate is intolerance.
Patrick:
> I agree.
Are you gentlemen specifically referring to tolerance based on people of
different genetic characteristics, not their cultural ones? Pirsig says,
"Cultures can be graded and judged morally on their contribution to the
evolution of life." (24) Do you agree?
Platt
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