From: maedhros@yabbs
To: pixy@yabbs
Subject: re: A strange Viewpoint
Date: Wed Jul 13 18:19:04 1994

In message re: A strange Viewpoint, pixy said:
> You know, it's kinda funny. I'm surprised that no else has noticed this
> yet. It seems that logic is awfully maleable. everyone is the world has a
> different view. The fringes of modern thinking reivent themselves almost
> yearly, almost like the fashion world. The cement of truth that we all
> tend to believe exists is perhaps a frustrating mud instead. My mind is
> constantly changing--but why wouldn't it? What doesn't change? 

What doesn't change?  The truth for one.  Your mind changes because we are
imperfect creatures with incomplete senses.  Our perceptions of the truth
change over time because we gain more or better evidence.  The truth,
however, remains constant.  i.e. we used to think the world was flat, now
we don't.  The truth was always that the earth was round (or pretty much
so, for you physicists out there), our perception was simply incorrect.

This same analysis holds true for arguments.  While people hold different
perceptions of the "truth", there is only one.  This is why it is so
important to debate and argue.  Since our perceptions and knowledge are so
pathetically incomplete, it is advantages to "pool" toghether our stores
of knowledge and evidence to try to peer more closely at the truth.

Of course, this is not valid for all arguments.  Discussions of right and
wrong have no truths (unless you pull the age old "God said it, so it's
true" crap and toss all rational and understanding out the window for a
nice smothering dose of ignorance and religion).  Discussions of ethics,
bad and good are all subjective.  That is, they are man made constructs
which have no physical meaning and, therefor, no fundamental truths.

Maedhros
        /\
       /--\
      /    \