[MD] Wanted: A proper foundation

[Ham Priday]

Now Ron says...


> And this seems to sum up our differences of opinion Ham.
> I am not a betting man. I prefer to draw conclusions from
> experience.
>
> To me, that wager is stacked. Metaphysics, especially your
> own is the insistance of a collectivist view based on one
> person's experience.  Before you go off on that statement,
> YOU are insisting that your insights are correct and that
> they are what's best for humanity.

Ron, I am defending my insights as the author of a metaphysical thesis.  I 
am not "insisting" on anything, especially a "collectivist view".

> Metaphysics is based on a collective universal belief about
> experience, often those who do not share that same belief
> being ridiculed, as you often do to those who disagree with
> your view of that wager, in fact if I was God, I'd call that a
> chicken-shit hedge all your bets move only a spineless timid
> soul with no convictions would make.
>
> It, to me expresses how little confidence you have in your
> own beliefs.

You are sounding more like Arlo and DMB with each post, and your definition 
of metaphysics is sorely misinformed.  There is no single "universal belief" 
called metaphysics, collective or unified.  Metaphysics is the branch of 
philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship 
between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value.  It 
includes ontology (the nature of being), cosmology (the causes and dynamics 
of the universe), and epistemology (the acquisition of knowledge).  Any 
philosophical theory that addresses these issues may be called metaphysical.

I've given you no reason (as Arlo would put it) to get your drawers in a 
tangle.  I continue to participate in the MD because a few have expressed 
interest in the basic concepts of Essentialism and because I share their 
interest in value.  Since you draw conclusions from experience (with the 
help of Pirsig), your beliefs lie elsewhere.  Fine, we agree to disagree. 
Then why do you still find it necessary to attack me?

--Ham