Author: allan johnson
Date: 03:09:27 11/03/99
Go up one level in this thread
On November 02, 1999 at 08:21:28, Djordje Vidanovic wrote: >On November 01, 1999 at 23:25:58, Dann Corbit wrote: > >>On November 01, 1999 at 23:15:17, Djordje Vidanovic wrote: >> >>>What Cristophe Theron had to say about programming in general and the strengths >>>of particular programs rang a bell with me: it was so _sincere_ and >>>confessional. And I have a weakness in my thinking that can be placed within the >>>domain of philosophy of science that says that truth must be an emotional event. Djordje Can you tell me what truth is?Just because someone is sincere and emotional does not mean they are truthful. For instance if someone has faulty vision and is not really aware of it he/she may recount something they saw sincerely and passionately but inaccurately.Truth for humans is highly subjective and because our organs and senses are not perfect we are never really in a position to know an absolute truth (if this concept actually exists). Cheers Rabbits >>> Unless a statement is emotional, it is _not_ truth. That is how I view things. >>>Christophe was emotional, very much so, and I believe that he was true to the >>>facts. The programming issues he brought up are crucial. >> >>I see no connection at all between truth and emotion. In fact, I am quite sure >>that there is no connection whatsoever. >> >>I do see an enormous connection between emotions and sincerity. >> >>However, sincere persons can be completely wrong. It happens all the time. >> >>People who hate each other for no reason at all are sincere. Robert Fischer is >>(no doubt) sincere in his feelings for people of Jewish ancestry. Yet his >>sincerity does not validate his position. >> >>People who formerly thought the earth was the center of the universe were >>emotional and sincere. Yet they were mistaken. >> >>However, I do respect C. T.'s opinions and enjoy very much reading his posts. >>But I do not consider his conviction or sincerity to be the reason that some >>things he says are valid. They are valid if they are correct -- but not simply >>because he believes them to be. >> >>Kierkegaard said that truth is "Man's approximation to reality" and certainly >>that is one kind of truth. I am more akin to Plato's model, that there is an >>underlying truth that we only approximate. Our approximations can get closer >>and closer to mathematical certainty, but don't really reach it. >> >>IMO-YMMV. > >Dann, thank you for bringing up the issue of approximation. That is exactly >what I had in mind when I said that truth is an emotional issue. Namely, as >there is no certainty (absolute truth), but only an approximation about reality, >that means that it is _us_ who decide what is the truth of the moment. Hence my >metaphor about truth being an emotional event. It is such because there is no >theory that we humans make that is not laden with our emotions, expectations, >world-views if you wish, etc. As this is so, and as we cannot get to the bottom >of things, then it turns out that we can produce only partial and theory-laden >(in the framework of my metaphor "emotional") statements about the world. Of >course, all this is Popperian, as you know. > >Cristhophe did just that: he did not shirk his individual responsibility and >produced the truth as he sees it. > >Djordje
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