[MD] Reason, Tradition, Absolute Truth

[Gene M]

>
> Presumably, given such an analysis, you would argue against
> traditionalists
> that their social patterns are attempting to restrict intellectual
> patterns,
> and therefore are bad.  That analysis is the same one that makes the
> Reason/Tradition distinction, the one I'm trying to call into
> question.  The
> social level is our traditions that reason has broken away from and that
> can
> now correct the social patterns.  That's just bad Enlightenment
> philosophy,
> SOM.
>
> Matt


I do think that any social patterns that restric free thought are immoral.
However there are plenty of social patterns working to increase the ability
to think freely. I'm not sure what you mean by Reason, but I don't think it
has anything to do with my arguments. I think absurd ideas should be given
as much shrift as "reasonable" ones. I wanna see people openly discussing
completely bizzaro ideas purely for the intellectual exercise of the
discussion. I'm not interested in Truth particularly, but I think that the
more random ideas that are come up with, and the more people are made aware
of the Quality of ideas, the better that Quality will become as they chase
after their Good ideas.

I honestly don't believe that society should really be led by intelletuals.
First off, it stops the intellectual from being able to be a True
intellectual in my idea of such a thing. Once you start into social patterns
of value, you're out of intellectual ones. I think the best person to head a
society is a humane one. They don't need to be smart, they don't need a
metaphysics, they just need to respect people and their freedoms, and want
the most happiness for the most people.

Intellectual patterns of value aren't some shining beacon to lead us to the
next stage of social evolution, they should effetively be outside society.
Not in a pretend Objective way, but in a very real way of distinct Quality
levels. Just as biology and society are distinct but affect each other
constantly, same with ideas. They can help guide society in the same way
religion and ritual have, but not in any kind of dominating way. Does a tree
dominate the soil it is growing in? Does our society dominate our biological
bodies? No. Intellectual patterns shouldn't dominate society either.

-Gene