RE: MD What makes an idea dangerous?

From: David Buchanan (DBuchanan@ClassicalRadio.org)
Date: Sun Oct 26 2003 - 19:55:37 GMT

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    Matt, David M. and all:

    dmb says:
    I think Matt was about right. The neo-prag wouldn't judge the cultures and
    would insist that nobody can rightly do so. Pirsig's MOQ says there is a way
    to make the call and that we should do so. Big difference. And surely it has
    to do with the fact that they are operating on two different, and
    incompatible, theories of truth. That was definately one of the points I
    hoped you'd notice. Will you take another look at it and respond? The heart
    of it is only two paragraphs long, and one of them is Rorty....

    > "For pragmatists, "truth" is just the name of a property which all true
    > statements share. ...Pragmatists doubt that there is much to be said for
    > this common feature. They doubt this for the same reason they doubt that
    > there is much to be said about the common feature shared by praiseworthy
    > actions... They see certain acts as good ones to perform, under the
    > circumstances, but doubt that there is anything general and useful to say
    > about what makes them all good."
    >
    > Truth is a common feature of true statements. There is little to be said
    > about this common feature, nothing general or useful. True statements and
    > morally praisworthy acts are just a common features of things about which
    we
    > have some intersubjective agreement about truth and morality. Truth and
    > morality are not things in themselves, but are attributes of particular
    > statements and acts. Truth and morality, in and of themselves, don't
    really
    > exist. They are subjective qualities. Ha! Isn't this the very mess Pirsig
    > starts with? I realize that post-modern linguistic espistemology isn't the
    > same thing as teaching freshman composition, but the point remains, no? In
    > MOQ terms, truth and morality are not just subjective attributes of
    > objective realities, they are just as real as rocks and trees.

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