From: ian glendinning (psybertron@gmail.com)
Date: Mon Apr 25 2005 - 04:20:15 BST
Thanks Mark,
When you said
Old doesn't mean wrong or useless. The earth didn't stop orbiting the
sun just 'cause Copernicus died. And what's "old" anyway?
I say, lest there be any doubt ... absolutely.
I put "old philsopher" in scare quotes in my original.
I'm as big an advocate of philosophology as anyone - standing on the
shoulders of giants, etc. The point I switch off is when someone
quotes their words as if it were literal truth to prove a point,
especially as you yourself pointed out, when the point also depends on
advances in understanding physics since their time. In that respect
"old" is probably under 30 years and dropping daily. The quality of
their thought is however, entirely independent of age.
Philosophology is essential, but not without an added philosophical
pinch of current insight.
Ian
On 4/25/05, Mark Steven Heyman <markheyman@infoproconsulting.com> wrote:
> Hi Ian,
>
> On 24 Apr 2005 at 16:10, ian glendinning wrote:
>
> I'm impressed that Mark finds the motivation to argue in such detail
> ...
>
> I find myself stopping at the point "not up to snuff regarding our
> current understanding of the physical universe" whenever anyone cites
> an "old philosopher" verbatim as if to prove something.
>
> msh says:
> Old doesn't mean wrong or useless. The earth didn't stop orbiting the
> sun just 'cause Copernicus died. And what's "old" anyway?
>
> But I'll be the first to admit that my look back at the Dialogues was
> a loving exercise in Philosophology. And you're right: it's amazing
> that such a refresher course is even necessary; but as long as
> crypto-creationists keep bringing up Paley to support their beliefs,
> there is no better response than Hume's classic refutations.
>
> ian:
> PS Mark, whose is the animal / vegetable quote ? Paley ?
>
> msh:
>
> It's Hume, Dialogues Part VII, Paragraph 3. Though his point is well-
> taken, I've always thought he was having us on a bit, as you Brits
> like to say. You know, the world is a cabbage with nothing inside
> it...
>
> "The world plainly resembles more an animal or a vegetable than it
> does a watch or knitting-loom. Its cause, therefore, it is more
> probable, resembles the cause of the former. The cause of the former
> is generation or vegetation."
>
> Best,
> Mark Steven Heyman (msh)
>
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