[MD] Philosophy and Abstraction

[Dan Glover]

Hello everyone

On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 12:09 PM, John Carl <ridgecoyote at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dan,
>
> I assure you that I'm being sincere when I say the only "reality" I can ever
> experience  meaningfully is through a narrative of relative concepts- which
> is what "language" is and thus it seems to me, the only pragmatically good
> way to approach it is just admit it's language, all the way down.

Dan:

Intellectually speaking, yes. But reality is more than that. Perhaps
that's why I consider myself a storyteller rather than a philosopher.
I use language to tell a (fictional) story but there is something
there much deeper than the language I use. As I said, you know that
too. I can tell by the stories you have shared. Language allows us to
express value but language is not the value we express. No good
storyteller would ever admit that it is only language all the way
down, would they?

>John:
> Perhaps Rortyian "conversation" is hinting at something much deeper and more
> complicated but conversation I don't understand is the same as no
> conversation at all.
>
> Which is always an available option for those who choose it.

Dan:

Well, to my mind, there is no point to dabbling in nonsense... it is
like playing video games or watching tv... it dulls the mind and
weakens the senses. I enjoy good conversation but I find it is a
difficult commodity to come by, so silence seems better. As far as
Rorty, I have never read much. He seemed like a very smart man but not
my cup of tea.

Thank you,

Dan