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- From: pmsc13sg@UMASSD.EDU
- Subject: intro to phil
- Message-ID: <1992Jul22.215955.11057@cis.umassd.edu>
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- Reply-To: pmsc13sg@UMASSD.EDU
- Organization: UMASS DARTMOUTH, NO. DARTMOUTH, MA.
- Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 21:59:55 GMT
- Lines: 37
-
- article 1486 discusses a good intro to philosophy. I recommend
- Atlas Shrugged and For the New intellectual by Ayn Rand, a contemporary
- neo-aristotelian in radical opposition to Kantian nihilism and the use of
- neo-aristotelian in radical opposition to Kantian nihilism and the use of
- philosophy to symbolize misery. Her colleague, Leonard Peikoff, in his
- Ominous Parallels, clearly outlines the basics of the history of philos-
- ophy as part of his comparison bet/contemp. America and pre-Nazi Ger.
- all these books are very clearly written so reader can know whether or
- not he agrees.
- Mainstream of contemp. phil. is product of mind not connected to
- real, like drunk in sleazy bar. This is accurate, not wild. Analysis is
- words diconnected from real and post-existentialisms are emotions
- disconnected from real. Evil. Destroy mind, via conceptual disintegra-
- tion, then life falls apart. Faith and skepticism incomplete alterna-
- tives. Reason and objectivity the needed third alternative.
- Religion or faith is standard accepted by most, even skeptics.
- Dogmatists claim divine omniscience or ignorance are only alternatives.
- Skeptics agree but take ignorance, like dostoyevsky:if no God, everytrhing
- permitted. Or nothing permitted. 3rd alternative:certainty is contextual.
- Establish logical context by reasoning about perception of real. Then
- claim:within certain context, judgements are absolute. Not divine, out-
- of-context absolutes, but contextual absolutes. Not skepticism nor dog
- matism but objectivism: choice to be logical about real.
- Those confused but not yet destroyed by kantian nihilism should considerthat bad situations don't cause bad philosophy. Choice to evade reasoning
- about real causes nihilism. See nazism
- Most philosophy splits existence, then constructs bizarrely elaborate
- symbol-system to connect poles of contradiction. Many intellectually trap
- buted in pseudo-rational attempt to overcome contradictions. But existence
- is identity, not contradiction. Real philosophy is elaborate, difficult
- but much, much less than mainstream of contemp. phil.
- Kant-I have limited knowledge therefore, to make room for faith.
- Rand-Something exists of which I am conscious. i must discover its
- identity.
- make your choice
- Caution-consider tart observation of Rock chanteuse Marianne Faithfull-
- "We've been trying to get high without having to pay." Alternative-realist-
- ic happiness. Stephen Grossman.
-