*
Weird-Science!
What is Wisdomology?
+
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] Forum
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] Thread
title > Weird-Science! What is Wisdomology?
] Post
subject > Part One of the Article / 7 April 07
/
.
>>> Even
science rests on a number of unproven, philosophical assumptions.
>>> Even
atheists don't have the absolute truth.
>>> Who
gets to decide what is rational? (You?!! Ha!)
>>> [from
a quote in 'Answering believers' by Hume's Razor, ]
>>> [in
chapter: 9. Postmodern relativism / 4 April 2007]
.
] In
'Replacement for religion' on 3Apr, homunculus wrote: [snip]
] What
if anything is needed in the absence of religion?
.
tx say:
hey ho; whatever it is, it's bound to be mighty weird. :(
.
] The
way I see it--which is of course limited, due to my
] inherent
emotional subjectivity-
.
Kierkegaard
say: "Truth is Subjectivity!", and I tend to agree,
so there's
nothing here to apologize for.
.
] -religions
are fiction-based explanations about afterlife fantasy and horror
] plus
over-earnest advice about how to get along with others. Remove these
] simplifications
from the scene and things start to become non-fiction based.
] What
could be better? [snip]
.
Only
more of the same, maybe? :)
.
. . .
beyond materialism and empiricism
.
>> In
'Re: High-powered telescope' tx previously wrote: [snip] The question is
>> not
'When will it happen?', the question is: Will you be ready for it? Will
you
>> be
strong enough to take those all-important first few steps? If you are ...
.
tx
say: Okay, okay. I know: "Cliffhangers izt Verbotten!" So maybe I shouldn't
just
leave you all hanging on the edge of a cliff like that. But what more is
there
to say?
The specialist-worldview is pretty much supreme these days. Totally
gung-ho,
really. So it's not just a question of technique anymore; there is more
going
on here than just finding the best-method. It's also a matter of *attitude*.
Why is
the arrogance of Science so dangerous? It's because Science tends to
blind
us to the mystery and complexity of Reality. It tends to make everyone
think
that truth is a simple and straight-forward thing that only needs to be
uncovered
or pointed at to be revealed in all its glory and fullness. Well, let me
tell
you that the “truth” is anything but simple.
.
The
entire Cosmos is VAST; including life, the universe, and everything. And
it
is *all*
complex and mysterious! Why shouldn't knowledge and truth be likewise:
complex
and mysterious? And vast (like our ignorance)? Accordingly, there is
little
justification for Science's attitude toward things that it is ill-equipped
to
understand.
Indeed, this arrogance born of scientific-expertise-via-specialization
is it's
own worst enemy. It will never do as a working Method-of-Operation in any
sophisticated
scientific investigation; and, in fact, must be thrown out right from
the get-go.
This first baby-step in the right direction is essential! I cannot stress
this
enough. If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem.
.
>> [snip]
Wisdom can't even be easily found under such appalling conditions,
>> let
alone analyzed and quantified. This is, and indeed must be, a major
>> problem
all around [snip]
.
If
you can see that this total lack of wisdom in science, philosophy, religion,
and
politics
is indeed the major source of many of today's most pressing problems
(eg.
over-population, pollution, warfare (eg. drug-wars and religious-wars),
fascism,
collective-obesity in the midst of mass starvation, etc etc) then you,
sir,
are miles
ahead of both the masses and the experts. But having admitted that
there
is a serious lack of wisdom where it is most needed, what can be done now
to address
the problem?
.
. . .
on giving birth to a new science
.
]
Welcome to Planet Earth, where Belief masquerades as Knowledge!
]
This way to the Unasked Questions --->
]
<--- This way to the Unquestioned Answers
]
( -- Mia's sig-lines )
.
>> If
only there was *some* rational and objective means by which to get a
>> handle
on these strange and slippery critters called 'wisdom' and 'spirit'.
.
But a
"rational and objective means" would seem to imply some kind of a science;
a science
about Wisdom & Spirit ! ... Or maybe some kind of neo-platonic and/or
neo-hegelian
science-of-spirit? This latter type of "grand-thinking" has surely
been
tried many times before; but it has always turned out to be, at best, a
kind
of pseudo-science,
more metaphysics and theology than anything resembling
so-called
"hard-science". That sort of thing will never do!
.
Any new
wisdom-science will have to avoid the fanciful extremes of metaphysical
speculation.
And the only way it *can* be done is to make it a top priority to
provide
a reasonably (and relatively) accurate description of reality as it is
found
(rather
than how we may think it ought to be). On the other hand, it will not be
quite
like the other sciences or humanities that deal with human nature and
activities.
It will therefore share some features with things like psychology,
sociology,
anthropology, and so on; yet it will be noticeably distinct from all of
these
as well, and not bound by the restrictions that encumber each of them.
.
And how
do you build this new science-of-Sophia? Very carefully, to be sure.
You have
to start from the basics and very slowly and very carefully build from
there.
Our basic philosophical standpoint then, must be that of naive-realism.
Here
then are the basic facts: the world is as we see it; this (apparent) world
is
consistent
and regular over time, being subject to a wide variety of universal
laws
(eg. gravity); and human beings are creatures caught up in the evolutionary
processes
and developments of biology and civilization. Our realistic starting
point
also has another great advantage: it prevents us from falling into the
trap
of importing
theology in through the back door, because one of the chief axioms
of Wisdomology
is that: Thou shalt NOT introduce unknown and/or intangible
entities
for which there is NO evidence! And this means that we can send all the
gods
and angels and demons packing *before* we even set to work.
.
. . .
:D
.
+
] wwwSite
> SamHarris.org Reader Forum Index -> #8
] Forum
> Politics, Religion and Science > Faith (General Issues)
] Thread
title > Weird-Science! What is Wisdomology?
] Post
subject > Part Two of the Article / 7 April 07
/
.
. . .
just what is wisdom and spirit anyway
.
A
more immediate top priority is to provide some definitions for the two
key
terms
defining the focus of our allegedly unique and particular study. Thus the
first
piece of evidence that concerns us is obviously the wisdom-literature of
the
ancient-near-east,
which dates back to 5000 years and more, and is based on
oral
traditions thousands of years older still. Wisdom-literature therefore
has a
much
longer history than any other literary form; with the significant exception
of poetry.
It is significant, because the Tanakh / Old Testament is a collection
of ancient
literary forms including myth, history, narrative, poetry, fiction,
philosophy
... and wisdom. Even more significantly, the boundaries between
these
types are *very* fluid, such that any attempt to section them apart may
be necessary
and convenient, but is also logically suspect.
.
But even
so, the oldest layers of the textual traditions are plain enough for all
to
see:
the wisdom-literature, which has its roots deep in the culture and world
of
ancient-egypt.
Therefore the holy-bible so popular among the current generation
of christians
demonstrates a direct link between ancient-egypt and modern-
american
bible-based christianity. Clearly these are very strong and lasting textual
-traditions;
and their "eternal" influence demands an adequate explanation. What
is also
clear is that "the Faith" began *there* with the priests and sages and
kings
of ancient-egypt
... but especially with the Pharaoh Amen-hotep IV. All of this
suggests
that there is some hope for continuity in the texts that we find and deem
relevant
to our strange-inquiry. And continuity among all of the world's greatest
literature
(given its obviously varied and abundant forms) is surely a key element
to the
science-of-sophia.
.
Anyway,
"wisdom" is basically just 'the right thing to do'. It is focused on action
and being,
not thought, and its end is 'the good life'. Such a life would include
things
like peace and happiness; in contrast to a life of warfare, which is action
focused
on violence and gain, on destruction and misery for land and glory, on
death
and plunder at the price of human blood. Defining wisdom is thus easy
compared
to the other, because wisdom - at least - has tangible expression in
"solid"
spiritual-realities (eg. as in sacred scriptures and philosophical texts).
Philosophically
speaking, then, the opposite of wisdom is not stupidity as such,
but rather
a lack of authenticity, and an abundance of boredom (ie. what the
sage
would call "life without meaning").
.
But
'spirit' is another matter. Spirit doesn't normally find consistent expression
in *any*
single type of narrative literature! Rather, music and poetry and art are
all more
and better suited to be more direct expressions of spirit. In some ways
this
is unfortunate for us, as we much prefer the "nakedness" and "clarity"
of the
textual-evidence,
but evidence of spirit cares not for such petty limitations. And
this
suggests that spirit is much more closely connected to the vital processes
of
living
human minds. Thus there's no sense ruling out the possibility that spirit
can
find
expression in narrative, but even such a thing could never exhaust or contain
the energies
and movements of active-spirit.
.
Spirit
is thus as natural a part of human life as civilizations and societies
and
cultures,
as they move through time and history; growing, flourishing, decaying,
dying.
So spirit expresses itself primarily (exclusively?) in and through individual
human
beings, but is a phenomena concerned with reason and vitality, with
cultures
and civilizations, and ultimately with the very being and welfare of all
humanity.
If we want to give all of this weird-stuff a name, we might as well call
it something
like 'Logos' in its most vital and particular forms, and just plain old
'spirit'
in its more general or vague forms.
.
. . .
on the virtues of flexibility
.
So
if you're with me so far, then the next step is to ask what other requirements
are needed
to be able to see the basic shape and form of our proposed new
science-of-sophia.
Can this enterprise consistently and rationally grapple with
such
intangible and untouchable concepts/realities as 'wisdom' and 'spirit'?
What
would such a technique or 'science-of-sophia' involve for a researcher
or
investigator
seeking to create or define such a weird-science? And what would be
its chief
source of data, its raw working materials? Well, these are all good and
necessary
questions, and merit adequate and detailed answers. The first thing
that
such a proposed 'sophia-scientist' needs is a very strong dose of imagination
and flexibility.
Without both of these qualities in "maximum-quantities" the sophia-
scientist
is lost before he even begins.
.
With
a little flexibility in all our thinking and reasoning we can have objective
facts
and information about intangible and spiritual human realities (such as
'wisdom'
and 'reason'). And we can have them chiefly by way of literature. The
specific
kinds of literature that we are looking for will have to be identified
and
cataloged
and classified and categorized so as to sub-divide the unruly mass into
workable
and cohesive groups. Every science requires an endless source of
relevant
information, and the raw data of science-of-sophia is human literature
in
all its
forms (including all the sacred and profane texts from around the world).
.
If
used properly, flexibility can provide us with "confidence without carelessness,
maximum
efficiency with minimum effort" (Moench-97). Another essential
prerequisite
(on the imagination and flexibility side) is a strong love for art &
music
&
poetry (all lumped together under the general category of Art), for these
three
things
are (in various ways) essential and important to the science-of-sophia.
That
is to
say, they are all *more* than they "seem to be" from the limited perspective
of a
physicist or an extreme materialist ... or a dog, for that matter! :)
.
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] Forum
> Politics, Religion and Science > Faith (General Issues)
] Thread
title > Weird-Science! What is Wisdomology?
] Post
subject > Part Three of the Article / 7 April 07
/
.
. . .
why Art is such a big dawg
.
And moreover,
much can be learned from Art that can contribute to our efforts.
For example,
recorded history begins technically with written languages;
and the
early prototypes were the less precise written-sign-languages (eg.
cuneiform
carved into stone and clay-tablets). But these have even deeper
roots
in the symbol-language of earlier times. And these, of course, all grew
out of
oral communication; ie. spoken languages go back perhaps several
millions
of years. If words (both spoken and written) are flexible and imprecise
(even
while striving for clarity), how much more so is the use of symbols as
a
way to
communicate concepts and ideas? We still do this all the time, of course;
but think
about what it would be like if it was your sole and *exclusive* means
of meaningful
expression? That is an *entirely* different matter! It involves an
entirely
different state of mind, an entirely different relationship with others
and with
your surroundings; a world, in short, that looks and feels completely
different
from anything that modern literate people could possibly comprehend,
and that's
for damn sure!
.
Therefore,
in the misty and primeval beginnings of recorded history, languages
and symbols
were Art; and served the same function, more or less, that poetry
and painting
does today. Except that in those early days Art was ALL; Art was
powerful
and meaningful and relevant and sacred. There were no art critics
forty
thousand years ago. That was around the time that the first 'new-breed'
of hominids
made an appearance, and soon made their presence felt in the
Mediterranean
Basin area. These were the first modern-type hominids, Cro-
Magnon,
who used symbols and pictures to make a record of their world; eg.
hunting
scenes and such. In other words, Art is Life!
.
In
the same way, the raw data of History will also need to be included within
the range
of our concerns. We need both art-in-general (ie. including music and
poetry
in the same general category) and universal-history to define and collect
the raw
materials we need to study for the relevant facts we need. The stuff we
must
use as our basic working-material is therefore literature. All literature,
in
all its
forms, is potentially included as possible sources of information and/or
wisdom.
We want only the most relevant and pertinent documents, of course,
but *nothing*
can be ruled out in advance, or without just cause.
.
. . .
on the benefits of existentialism
.
> In
'On Puny-Little-Animals' tx wrote: [snip] Russell was not much impressed
> with
Existentialism as a part of the philosophic enterprise. He considered it
> a waste
of time, more or less. Why study puny-little-animal when the Great
> Cosmic
Mystery beckons for our complete and undivided attention? This is
> the
grounds and justification for the detached and impersonal ways of both
> science
and philosophy; the reason why most scientists and philosophers
> refuse
to get involved with the ongoing battle for the hearts and minds of the
> People.
Even Science must have its comforting illusions I suppose, and this
> is
surely one of them. But there is plenty enough mystery in these "puny-
> little-animals"
to keep philosophers busy for quite a spell, I expect.
.
Another
thing that is required of us is a healthy dose of Existentialism (and I
don't
mean existentialism of the negative 'oh-woe-iz-me' type championed by
Kierkegaard,
Sartre, Camus, and that lot). This is because, of all the major
philosophical
systems, Existentialism is the only one that takes human-being
seriously,
as a subject that is indeed worthy of sustained philosophical
investigation.
Existentialism begins from the understanding that human-being is
necessarily
full of mystery and complexity. And unlike all the other philosophies
and sciences
and theologies that deal with humankind, it is the only one that
does
not claim to offer complete or final or absolute answers to all your
curiosity-needs.
.
Existentialism
also makes no bones about accepting the fact that man is an
animal,
like other animals in *many* ways, and as such is subject to all the
flaws
and limitations inherent in being a mere creature of the earth. Man is
indeed
distinguished from other animals by being a rational, political, moral,
and spiritual
being, but this does not negate the equally important fact that
fundamentally
man is still an irrational creature largely driven by irrational
urges,
desires, emotions, and impulses. And even more important to us than all
this
is that Existentialism also takes seriously the idea that man is an historical
creature;
humanity is human-being-in-process. Man is in Time, and in History,
just
as he is in Space, and in Society. Humankind is thoroughly and completely
"embedded"
within Reality as a whole (as a part of that very same cosmos).
.
+
] wwwSite
> SamHarris.org Reader Forum Index -> #10
] Forum
> Politics, Religion and Science > Faith (General Issues)
] Thread
title > Weird-Science! What is Wisdomology?
] Post
subject > Part Four of the Article / 7 April 07
/
.
. . .
not enough love due to a lack of reason
.
Moreover,
human-being is structured such that rational behavior is the
*exception*,
and not the norm; and this is the key to understanding the nature
of the
historical dialectic (ie. the ongoing movement toward rationality, then
away
from it, then toward again). The progress of civilizations through the
centuries
is like a slow upward spiral, always gaining and losing ground as we
inch
our way cautiously forward. Positive change radiates outward from many
exceptional
individuals who show others the path ahead. People get the idea
and spread
it. And then they love it so much that they keep on spreading it long
after
the need for a better idea has arrived. The masses are way too much like
stubborn
sheep eager to follow the wrong path! You want to talk about original
-sin?
This is it right here. This has always been the case throughout history,
and there
is no reason to suppose that human nature has changed in any
significant
way lately. So the more people you have, the more dummies you get!
.
That
would explain a lot about the historical situation that the human race
faces
today; as regards, for example, things like the war between religions and
ideologies,
the "invisible" war against drugs, violence as cultural-expression,
the Law
used by the ruling class as a weapon of tyranny and oppression against
citizens,
and more, not to mention the rising tide of fascism. Most people are
caught
between a dozen different ages, ranging from neolithic culture and
values
and thinking, to the bronze-age, to the dark-ages and right up to post-
modern
times. They are caught without a clue as to whiter they came, and
where
to go. It's a confusing situation, and people don't know what to think.
And who
can blame them? Humankind has never before faced such problems
and challenges
as these.
.
And
as long as *more* people are *more* irrational than rational, then there's
precious-little
hope that things will improve in the long run. Things are critical
now!
It's a crisis-situation that's going terminal fast. We have to "make" people
(a lot
of people!) a lot more rational; and we have to do it soon. But how? This
is the
question that ought to be occupying the minds and resources of all the
many
and various leaders of the many and various nations, countries, and states.
It is,
in fact, the only "political issue" that really matters; both in the short
term,
and in
the long term. So how can we help/assist/aid/coerce/entice/etc all the
people
to take a real-big-bite of Reason?
.
...
Yeah, that's what I say. Mr Harris is right; pacifism in this absurd context
IS immoral!
So there's also *that*.
.
But
wait! What if some smart-techs could invent a Weapon-of-Mass-Modification
(WMM)?
And what if this smart-machine could specifically target the portion of
the brain
controlling emotional responses? And what if this 'Smart-Ray' could
knock
out exactly half of it (all of it would be a disaster, of course); not
to
destroy,
but merely to dampen? … This would give reason and rational thinking
a bit
of space to breathe freely, some much needed elbow room, as it were.
Would
we be violating people's rights in the most horrific way by forcing
modification
upon them against their (clearly-expressed) will? And all in the
name
of the greater-good? People would surely hate it enormously. At first,
yes;
but gradually
they would get used to having a lot less needless and wasteful
histrionics
messing up the place. Then they would even learn to like it; and soon
after
learn to love it. Everyone applauds, and the inventor of the Smart-Ray
is
dubbed
a hero! ... Whose rights were violated again? :(
.
- endit
-
x