> On Mon, 6 Oct 1997, Nathaniel Hall wrote:
>
> > > Logic may help you achieve a goal, but it's no
> > > good for setting goals, except for those that
> > > are merely a means to some greater end,
> > > and therefore not really goals at all.
> >
> > Not at all! Logic teaches you which goals are possible, and allows one
> > to pick those which one has the greatest chance of achieving. One must
> > know ones natural skills and what one can do with it LOGICALLY in order
> > to set a goal!
>
> This is a good example of not the failing of logic, but the failings of
> those who employ it. Often /attempting/ to reach a goal that logic tells
> you is impossible will yield more fruit than simply reaching a the
> simpler goal that is logically possible. The rationalist has been robbed,
> in these situations, by his own logic.
Not necessarily. I may persue a goal not knowing how far in advance I can
take it. However if I know , logically , that the jouney itself is worthwhile
even if I don't complete the trip it is still reasonable, that is logical, to
persue it. These discourses right here are a good example of that. I don't
know what is going to be said by the rest of the people on this list, but I do
know from past experiance that it has proven to be worthwhile. A reasonable,
logical, conclusion, and I have been robbed of nothing.
> This is why people willing to
> fail at great tasks are often more successful than their peers who always
> succeed at the mundane.
>
Logical action must allow for some uncertainty in life. To deny that one does
not know some things would be illogical. Failure is not all bad if one learns
from one's mistakes. You've set up a straw man here in order to knock him down
but a logical person could persue the course you've mentioned for the reasons
I've listed.
> Your logic /should/ tell you that overriding logic in some cases is the
> best answer. Does it though?
It's logical to be Ilogical? Come on now! I know you can't really believe
that! Your trying to bait me! Rather have a strong enemy than a weak ally
right?
The Nateman.