Ok, "dialogic commons" probably seems silly to many of you. It seems a little pretentious to me, like a woodcutter trying to make an impression on philosophers.
But I do have some definite territory to claim here and I wanted to grab your attention somehow. Another title might be, Community vs Individualism. Another might be, Pragmatism and Idealism, together at last! Or perhaps, Royce vs James, who has the Quality? But the main point I am bringing out in this thread is that Socrates wouldn't have been Socrates without a whole lot of help. Questions can't be answered unless they are asked. Sometimes, the asking starts in the answer-ers head before the question is even asked by any other. But that other is there anyway. Dialogue is at the heart of all philosophy and I would take issue with any philosophy of fundamental individualism. I would like to illustrate my positive point, with an ongoing dialogue between two friends: In 1876, after a year in Germany studying philosophy and concentrating on Kant, Schopenhauer and Shelling, Josiah Royce enrolled at Johns Hopkins as a graduate student. There he became acquainted with William James who was a visiting professor from Harvard. Although Royce and James had profound philosophical differences, they were always loyal and helpful to one another and James even landed Royce a place at Harvard. The Fruit of their relationship is one of the most interesting aspects of American intellectual history. So to support my position, I would like to invite a response from those on this list who would champion that Pragmatism and/or that individualism which puts Quality into the realm of the subjective. Since I will be taking the side of Idealism, I'll have to ask a Pragmatist to lay out their oppositional points as I haven't read James. Heck, I'm just half way through my basic Royce, but I do feel ready to let the communal process begin and let the chips fly. Says the woodcutter. Be forwarned: I prefer to use my knife, but I do own a chainsaw. Here is the first whittle. Its a wiki whittle... *Idealism* is the philosophical theory that maintains that the ultimate<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate>nature of reality is based on mind or ideas. It holds that the so-called external or "real world" is inseparable from mind, consciousness, or perception. That, to me seems soundly within the bounds of the MoQ. And it is the RIGHT definition of Idealism because it is the wiki answer. Of course, wiki can be wrong about somethings, but communal consensus on philosophical terms IS exactly what defines philosophical terms. And the wiki is the greatest achievement in communal consensus that *I've* ever seen. The potential for philosophical growth and insight is exponentially expanded when woodcutters are enabled communication with philosophers, and individual thoughts that are never shared are about as noisy as trees falling in a lonely forest. So "TIMBER" to you all and happy Memorial Day. John the Idealist... waiting for the workweek. Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
