RE: virus: Is learning valuable?
Wright, James 7929 (Jwright@phelpsd.com)
Mon, 07 Apr 97 10:23:00 EDT
Tad wrote:
>>There is a set of beliefs which stimulates independent learning. The
>>intellectual elite -- who knows the set -- is divided into two groups:
(1)
>>those who want to make the set of beliefs public (causing more people
to
>>loose interest in "hunting" and other hard work needed for the survival
of
>>the group), (2) those who want to keep the set secret. Of course the
first
>>group is spreading the set of beliefs, so what does the second group
do?
>>Ridicules this particular set of beliefs. This way more people can be
kept
>>in the dark and serve as mental slaves to the society. Who is doing a
>>better job for the society?
>>This is very interesting. Of which group would you consider yourself a
>member? Which would you assign other people on this to?[R K]
>>The first. I believe everyone has a right to decide what to do with
>>knowledge. Knowledge should not be hidden from anyone, as there is
enough
>>for everybody. Even such dangerous memes as 3 axioms (and even...
4P's).<<
I do not consider the 3 axioms as dangerous, or even incorrrect; only
...limited.
>>Trying to contradict or ridicule the three axioms (which I believe are
the
>>most useful and stimulating for independent learning) seems to put a
person
>>in the second group.<<
Having created a questionable dichotomy ("intellectual elite" versus "the
rest of the world"), a second questionable dichotomy is postulated
("publicizers" versus "secretizers"). These secretizers are colluding to
create/maintain mental slaves to further their own political power and
privilege.
Tad, Poland may have had such a structure. It may still have it. I do not
understand that such a structure exists globally with any success, or
Serbia would not be rioting now.
I do find your use of the word "believe" to be illuminating. I find your
suggestion that those who question the three axioms to be mental slaves
vaguely disturbing; it smacks of elitism on your part, or as David R. put
it earlier, "Objectivism is an elitist philosophy". You are welcome to
form any theory you like, and to consider me a mental slave if you wish;
but I do not consider being a slave to Objectivism any better than being
a slave to any other thought pattern.
>It is of course hard to know if they are trying to reverse axioms for
the purpose of >deceiving others (and they secretly believe axioms) or if
in fact their minds are not >capable of accepting the axioms.<
Another false dichotomy! What of those who find the arbitrary decree of
three axioms unnecessary, and the actual three axioms chosen incomplete
and insufficient? Is your mind not capable of accepting anything besides
the three axioms as valid?
> I find interesting to study the motives.<
I don't; I quit looking for malicious conspiracies to dominate the
planet. Those trying to do it openly are usually quite trouble enough!
james