Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 14:46:45 -0400
From: edwin ruda <edwin.ruda-AT-verizon.net>
Subject: Good/Evil


Intro:	Please excuse the presence of Nichi (my favorite pseudonym),
		on the Heidegger site. A ficticious dialogue with him seemed
		appropriate at the time.

 		A  Play-full Act of Words, Not War 		

Nichi;	I told you long ago, ask yourself who's asking the questions, and
		who's answering, a case of questions chasing question marks.

ER:		We have a down-to-earth crisis here, Fred, I mean if we don't 
		get answers soon, we won't be asking questions either.

Nichi:	OK Edoepus, what's the question?

ER:		For starters, who's the culprit here? You know - it looks like the 
		old case of a crow judging a beauty contest; a crow always takes
		first prize while the doves cry, "bad judgment." Only what we have 
		here I'm afraid, is a life-death deal, not a good-looks prize.

Nichi:	First question: Ask yourself whether your judgment or the enemy's 
		judgment is good or evil.

ER:		I say mine is like a shining rainbow, and theirs a blacked out Hell
		in the waters of Lethe. And they say the opposite.

Nichi:	Stop right there! Let's chuck the image-concepts and get to the nitty-
		gritty. What's at stake here is nothing less than LIFE itself, whether
		you want to preserve, enhance, and enrich it, or if you're willing
		to smother it.

ER:		Not so fast with the "good life" thesis. Suicide martyrs may sacrifice
		themselves and others for the sake of a truth concept, but their 
		judgment to die is made for the sake of the OTHER, so that the 
		lives of others will thrive.

Nichi:	I'll say it again - forget "true" and "false" moral judgments,
kid, 
		they're only images of the world that philosophers invent
		to suit their own moral values.

ER:		What would the Oedipus question be, then?

Nichi:	It's still a question of L-I-F-E. not a rehash of the defunct,
		plebeian virtues of "equality before the law." What Man needs, is an
		extravaganza of LIFE, not a flattened yeasaying to uniformity,

ER:		What about a good war in the name of LIFE?

Nichi:	Not my cup of tea. A high-spirited warrior is not your slavishly, 
		imitative, patriot, soldier. On that score, here's an old quote of mine:
		"Your enemy you shall seek, your war you shall wage ---for your
		thoughts."

ER:		I'll think about it.


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