File spoon-archives/bataille.archive/bataille_1999/bataille.9908, message 228


Date: Sat, 28 Aug 1999 07:06:29 +1000
From: David Quinn <davidquinn-AT-ozemail.com.au>
Subject: Re: Tao, paradox, heraclitus



Since you guys have become a bit more lively and direct over the past couple
of days - and since there is, thankfully, far less of that sterile posing
that seems to taint most European intellectualizing - I've decided to stay
on a bit longer.

--

John Foster wrote:

>I get a kick out of the capitalization of truth. It
>reminds me of the handouts of some sects, when every tenth word in a
>sentence is capitalized. 

Speaking for myself, I capitalize Truth because (a) to me, it is the most
valuable thing in the world and (b) because it specifically refers to the
*ultimate truth* of all existence, thus distinguishing itself from all
lesser truths.   In other words, I regard "Truth" to be the holy grail of
all philosophy and spirituality.

I also like to capitalize Truth because I know how it irritates those
postmodern nihilistic types who don't want to believe in anything.   


>As if there is only one truth in the world.

There is only one Truth, by definition.   The very idea of two Truths is a
contradiction in terms. 


>The
>second folly I have noticed is the constant monopolization of the notion of
>the concept of truth without any dialogue or explanation. As if truth just
>sits there on a pedestal waiting to be discovered like some rather
>archeological fact. 

I'm afraid it is very much like that - it *is* something which sits on a
pedestal waiting to be discovered like some archeological fact.   The Truth
is a very singular thing and very few find it.   Yet it is always there,
waiting to be found by those who most desire it.    

One of the interesting things about Truth is that it is neither subjective
nor objective in nature.   On the one hand, it doesn't exist in any
objective sense, like a physical object in space might do, but neither does
it manifest as a subjective reality that is arbitrary and contingent.    It
is absolute and unchanging and timeless, and yet it can only be discovered
through the subjective probings of the individual mind.  


>Yes Truth as an artefact. Or there is a secret method of
>which David's sect has the key to.

Sorry, I don't believe in sects.   Your imagination is running away from
you!   All I really advocate is the full and free use of reason serviced in
the heartfelt attempt to discover what is ultimately real in life.   In
other words, I try to promote all of those old-fashioned values which nobody
seems to care about anymore - noble idealism, intellectual honesty, absolute
deference to reason, mental solitude, passion for Truth, and so on.    


>There is nothing more hilarious than to allude to the truth somewhere as
>though it existed on every street corner while at the same time never
>attempting to explain what constitutes truth. The basic 'truth' of reasoning
>is simple. If there is a concept regarding what truth is then it must have
>at least one predicate when it is referred to in a propositional sentence.
>But so far I have not seen anything remotely similar to a proposition or a
>predicative sentence. Therefore I regard most of David's sentences as
>'passionate' and emotional, or rather succinct irrationalism.  I quess that
>these kinds of statements are an example of the 'postmodern' anxiety of a
>sense of powerlessness to be able to reason. There are various acts of the
>mind. One of them is reasoning. To reason is to demonstrate via formal or
>informal logic some understanding regarding the object of interest. In the
>case of the topic Truth this is apparently lacking, except for a blazen
>emotional outburst of joy and trembling, and incipient power. 

I define "Truth" to be what the mind perceives and experiences when it has
eliminated all of its delusions.  A delusion is a false thought, or a belief
in something which doesn't really exist.     When a person learns to stop
his mind from projecting false imaginings upon the world, and when he is
able to look at the ultimate nature of the world without grasping at it in a
deluded manner, then what he experiences effortlessly is the "Truth" (i.e.
the world, both inner and outer, stripped of all delusion). 

How does one eliminate delusion?    Well, firstly, by using reason to
uncover what is logically and permanently true about the nature of
existence, and then, secondly, using this knowledge as a benchmark for
judging what is true, and what is false, in the world.  

For example, it is logically true that all things have causes (I can provide
a logical demonstration of this, if you wish).    Since it is logically true
that all things have causes, it follows that nothing can ever arise
uncaused.  The universe, quantum particles, God's wishes, psychic events, or
whatever - you name it, all of them are necessarily caused in some way.
So right away, a lot of the superstitions that currently surround religion
and science are exposed and dealt with by this simple piece of reasoning.  

So when one follows up this sort of process to the very end, and uses
logical truth to eliminate all of one's delusions, then it can gradually
cause the mind to alter in such a fashion that it becomes open to the
living, breathing existence of Ultimate Truth - which, in the end, is the
only thing that matters to me.    


David Quinn



   

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