Subject: RE: BHA: scientific realism, Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 17:46:45 -0000 From: "Bailey,DJ (pgr)" <D.J.Bailey-AT-lse.ac.uk> I think the consensus that is emerging is that an object can be neither true nor false; it can be only truly or falsely perceived. obviously, when we are talking about social objects - capitalism, feudalism, communism - it is possible that the objects themselves are constituted by individuals holding false perceptions; this, however, does not make the social object itself false (as, again, an object cannot be true or false), but it does require that a true perception of that social object contains a description of those false perceptions that constitute it (and the reason why consistently false perceptions should occur). Lastly, the trueness or falseness of our perceptions of reality are always ultimately fallible (i.e. potentially false) because the fact that they exist externally to us (i.e. irrespective of our perceptions of them) itself implies that we can never have complete faith in our understanding of them (as they are, indeed, external to us). -----Original Message----- From: Mark A. Foster [mailto:owner-AT-markfoster.net] Sent: Wed 10/12/2003 17:32 To: bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu Cc: Subject: Re: BHA: scientific realism, Might it be accurate to say that capitalism is true in relation to feudalism but false in relation to communism? Mark A. Foster * http://markfoster.net "Sacred cows make the best hamburger" -- Mark Twain and Abbie Hoffman --- from list bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu --- Ҷ2)Yxmifz{l騽ɞƠzfrj)umifz{lz*+/y'֥֜g'+-JȦyq,y0JZةj,^vױej)mnrڦbqbgy~&+-n+-V{v
Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005