Subject: Re: Local determinism?
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 21:16:30 +0800


Steve,

Yeah I agree that some determinism is reassuring (otherwise why would we
have fascists?), but
with regards to...


> Determinism states that the world or nature is subject to causal law, that
> every event has a cause. If this is true then every event that happens has
to
> happen, since it logically follows from a description of the conditions of
its
> occurance.... Some philosophers (Hume and Mill for example) have taken
this
> principle as being the general of the 'laws' of nature this is pre-modern
> scientific thinking and is not generally applicable any longer.


I like the non-linear dynamic maths idea of feedback loops. What I find
particularly scary is when 'local determinisms' clash on a 'global' stage,
each being fed by a subjective interpretation of top-down causality
generated by the ('blind faith' in whichever relative) opposing discourses.
And it seems that there is no solution... the death of Levinas'
Altogether-Other (or the third non-human party you described)? Is humanity
the Other to language?


Glen.


PS Of course there are solutions, you know, bigger guns and stuff.