An objection to Objectivism

Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 6 months ago to Philosophy
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Yesterday (12-15)jame464 wrote an interesting comment. He/she immediately go negative points and I wrote an answer. However, I thought that this would be an important topic for discussion. So, here is jame464 comment and my reply. I'd be interested what other Gulchers have to say.

jame464: Objectivism logics is flawed from the perspective of its principles because it relies on reason as the ultimate means for man to determine reality. This is entirely subjective because you cannot reason to fundamental absolutes such as are we here by purpose or accident. I believe that a philosophy that says "existence exists" has holes in the bottom of the pale where it contains all its principles and corollaries and postulates and theories, etc.

herb7734: It seems to me that you are saying that we cannot reason until we know everything. That is a problem in the realm of epistemology which remains open-ended until such time as we do know everything. But, failure to know-all does not preclude one's ability to use reason particularly because of the very statement that you make. What do you propose instead?

All Comments

  • Posted by LibertyBelle 9 years, 6 months ago
    You can reason to fundamental absolutes which
    are inescapable, because any attempt to deny them involves their acceptance. (Of course, they
    must be demonstrably inescapable; it's not a mat-
    ter of just arbitrarily picking whatever you want to be an axiom). I do not think that whether we
    are here by purpose or accident is an axiom, but
    one can use reason to figure it out, and its valid-
    ity rests ultimately on the axioms. (I think of
    axioms as selvages on the edge of the universe,
    which keep it from unraveling).
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  • Posted by ewv 9 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Descartes did that himself. De horse was already there before de cart started talking about it, trying to deduce it from inside his mind cut off from reality. All of it was there and without it he never could have tried to rationalize it or be motivated to. Ordinary experience in de world (including de horses and de carts) logically and existentially precedes de philosophizing.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I believe in self-defense. However,I have at age 81 decided that I'm in no shape to demonstrate my fighting abilities. I find that a cane with a heavy metal handle in the shape of an eagle's beak, is pretty handy, but as a last resort, the wife's 38 snub or my really deadly looking black 357 are plan B backup. I hope that never happens, but wishing won't make it so.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    His greatest fear is an actual Declaration of War. Then Moore and the Fonda's of the world would be spending their loot on lawyers.
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  • Posted by Animal 9 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I honestly believe that some people (example: Michael Moore) richly deserve to have their lights punched out. Although at my current level of... maturity, I strive not to be the guy that does the punching.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 9 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Now we can make it political. Heinz means Theresa Antoinnette AKA Mrs. Kerry. I'll stick with Hunts. We get fresh and cheap shrimp down here about two months of the year starting next month. We also get fresh made salsa. No horseradish but I import that from Gringolandia. A twist pun intended, is fresh limes but lemons are another import item. Tomatoes are grown year round an hour to the South. Add a molcahete and a few chiles. Thanks for the idea
    it's going to be a great two months of culinary experimentation.

    So why the Heinz only?
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  • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    See....I told everyone that posting replies to this guy is good practice. Every once in a while we all say something that doesn't quite come out the way we intended and becomes a puddle of junk -- and we step in it.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    2 parts Heinz ketchup (must be Heinz) 1 part red horseradish, lemon juice to taste. Great with shrimp, scallops and brain.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 9 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    A rabbi, a minister and a priest walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Is this some kind of a joke?"
    Reply | Permalink  

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