Yeah, like this: "Not reading them, just quoting..." WC
--- Derek Allan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Not only reading them, William, quoting them... > > DA > > On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 6:13 AM, William Conger > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > It's clear you are not reading my posts, again, so > I > > will let it go. The only response I can make to > you > > last post is to repeat my last post. > > > > WC > > > > > > --- Derek Allan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > 'Supposition?!!' I just quoted your own words. > > No you didn't, you took part of one of my > statements > > and attached it to your own as if the whole was my > > statement. > > > > > > Re: 'F the probability I guess at turns > > > out to be correct through some future discovery > of > > > Paleolithic practices and lifestyle THEN we will > > > know > > > that human reliance on magic (superstitious > > > explanations and beliefs) is a typical human > trait.' > > > > > > This is a very strange statement. 1.. How will > we > > > ever know? > > > > I was talking about probabilities based on > evidence of > > what later cultures did. > > > > 2. Why would > > > what Paleolithic man believed (and that would > cover > > > an awful lot of > > > different groups spread across many regions!) > > > necessarily be 'a typical > > > human trait'? Do we for example believe it > > > (whatever it is...) ? 3. And > > > again what do you even mean by 'magic'. Harry > > > Potter? If not what? > > > > I already defined it twice I believe, at least. > > > > > > Re: 'We may be wrong. But the > > > evidence suggests that we are are more right > than > > > wrong. " > > > > > > Sorry. There is NO evidence. How could there be? > > > Archaeologists are flat > > > out working out such basic things as how they > killed > > > animals and how they > > > buried their dead. Their beliefs are lost > forever. > > > Not only theirs of course > > > but cultures much closer to us in time. (What > did > > > the people who made the > > > Cycladic feminine figures believe? And they were > > > Neolithic. ) > > > > You seem to me > > > to share the common art historian's blissful > belief > > > that a wild guess can be > > > regarded as evidence if it said with enough > > > confidence and repeated enough > > > times. > > > > That's an insult, not only to me but to art > > historians, too. You don't seem to have much > > understanding of art history, anthropology, etc. > I > > presented reasonable arguments, which are mine and > not > > some art historian's -- although I might > appreciate > > them -- which you refute by rephrasing them, > > eliminating nuance, and totalizing you simplistic > > conclusions. You can only see things one absolute > way > > or the other. Haven't we been here before, and > > before, and before? It's just more academic > racism. > > Real discourse is impossible with you. > > > > WC > > > > > > DA > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 11:26 PM, William Conger > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > wrote: > > > > > > > How do you get to that supposition from my > > > sentence? > > > > Have you ever studied formal logic? > > > > > > > > I don't know what beliefs Paleo man had. But > I > > > will > > > > "guess" and infer that IF they were human > beings > > > THEN > > > > they probably had beliefs and IF they had > beliefs > > > THEN > > > > they probably employed some magic to aid and > > > enhance > > > > their beliefs. IF the probability I guess at > > > turns > > > > out to be correct through some future > discovery of > > > > Paleolithic practices and lifestyle THEN we > will > > > know > > > > that human reliance on magic (superstitious > > > > explanations and beliefs) is a typical human > > > trait. > > > > Meanwhile we guess and admit it, leaving all > > > options > > > > open or forever closed as the case may be. > > > > Nevertheless, the guess that Paleo man used > some > > > sort > > > > of magic is not without some substance. Of > all > > > > instances of human use of "magic" to explain > > > natural > > > > events or to control them or to reinforce > beliefs > > > or > > > > to impose them, most involve some types of > > > imagery, > > > > ritual, decorated artifacts and the like. > When > > > we > > > > see the imagery, the eveidence of ritual, the > > > > decorated artifacts in otherwise unknown and > > > > unknowable cultures such as Paleolithic > culture, > > > we > > > > are not being unreasonable to suppose that > such > > > > cultures employed magic. We may be wrong. But > the > > > > evidence suggests that we are are more right > than > > > > wrong. What else is there to say on this > topic? > > > > > > > > Your twisting of sentences, the mixing up of > my
