Bullshit

You raise the question whether using earlier theories, which are superseded by newer theories, one can (or even could ever) access knowledge? (I am not a physicist, but I do not think that physicists have junked Newtonian theories. I think that Newtonian physics retains its validity in the macroworld we live in and is not considered false. As far as I remember, I have not come across writings that …

Question: I have some problems understanding apara, para, existence, and presence. Apara exists, but is not present; para is present but does not exist. Are you saying that what is present does not exist, what exists is not present? If so, how can you reconcile with our common sense notion that what exists is present? Even though presence doesn’t imply existence, we can’t say that existence imply …

Let us agree on the proposed division into two categories: “1) That which exists or could exist (2) That which could not and does not exist but is present (therefore ‘Real’)”. Let us also accept that (1) collects: “(a) everything that we know like Earth, stars, mud, (b) everything that we can think of or imagine - models, formulas, triangles, present and future scientific theories, tooth fairies, …

To help you think through the problem you “whether Christians can get enlightened”, try using this analogy. Something, let us call it ‘daffodil’, fascinates us. Let us also assume that a great deal of concern and interest is expressed about it. Consider two scenarios now, each of which testifies to our fascination. The first scenario is this. There is versification (call it ‘poetry’) and …

This post will use an imagery as its organising thread, which tracks the search for enlightenment in terms of notions known to us from our secondary and higher education. If we consider the search for happiness in these terms, then the ideas expressed there could be reformulated thus: as human beings, almost all of us would like to be literates or would like to have a primary education. This is …

Why understanding bullshit is important? Three reasons: (a) there is a very frequent use of the word ‘bullshit’ (mostly in my posts); (b) bullshit has been tied directly to truth in the literature on the subject, (c) far more important is the fact that it is much more connected to knowledge than has so far been acknowledged. In this post, the focus is on the third reason. I First, an …

Let us call the descriptions of what you see ‘facts’. Are your ‘facts’ a contribution to human knowledge? In one sense they are; the way any description of anything by anybody is a ‘fact’ and thus knowledge. One needs, and one has, a way of not wanting to call every piece of ‘fact’ as knowledge. Hence, we can reformulate the issue: does it contribute towards building a scientific theory of …

Let us begin in a very intuitive way and ask ourselves this question: where do we encounter ‘cultural differences’? In human contacts, of course. What kind of human contacts? In inter-individual contacts. That is, we see (or sense, or intuit or whatever) cultural differences in our contacts with individual human beings. You do not meet ’the western culture’ but individual Americans, Germans, …