You are amusing, but still...   Flush!   


On Oct 5, 2010, at 7:14 PM, david buchanan wrote:

> 
> Marsha:
> 
> It doesn't matter that you were haikuing to Mark. You've confused relations 
> and comparisons with relativity many, many times and the point still stands. 
> There is a difference between the two and the failure to recognize that has 
> lead you into many misconceptions. In fact, your impression that this 
> explanation is irrelevant strikes me as further evidence of your confusion. 
> How you fail to see the relevance? Since I was talking directly to you about 
> your views, that's hardly plausible. By calling it irrelevant, you just mean 
> that you have no intention of acknowledging the point or learning from it in 
> any way. There's a very static static pattern. Insult and evade, dismiss, 
> evade and insult, then evade, dismiss and evade while insulting as you evade 
> and dismiss. It's so boring and so predictable. Maybe "stale pattern" would 
> be a better term for it. 
> 
> Really, Marsha. If your responses are just going to be empty, unresponsive 
> nothings, why bother? Nothing would be better. This kind of response only 
> adds bad vibes for no reason at all. It's just distracting, energy-sucking 
> negativity with no point and no purpose. It's ego-driven bullshit and you 
> know it. You're just being a party pooper, a wet blanket and bad sport.  
> 
> I almost hate to say it but this behavior does not serve the cause of 
> feminism. You're acting suspiciously like the worst old-school stereotypes. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> From: [email protected]
>> Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2010 17:02:36 -0400
>> To: [email protected]
>> Subject: Re: [MD] Emptiness & Quantum Mechancics
>> 
>> 
>> dmb,
>> 
>> I might also point out that this little haiku was a response to Mark's 
>> post, concerning Quality and Emptiness, so your post was totally 
>> irrelevant.    
>> 
>> 
>> Marsha  
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Oct 5, 2010, at 4:11 PM, david buchanan wrote:
>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Marsha said:
>>> RELATIVITY:
>>> the tallest dwarf
>>> meeting the smallest giant
>>> - same size
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> dmb says:
>>> 
>>> No, that's not what relativity means. Relativity means there is no standard 
>>> by which to measure things like truth and moral values. 
>>> 
>>> What you have above is merely three sets of relations.
>>> 
>>> The dwarf is tallest in relation to other dwarves.
>>> The giant is the smallest when compared to other giants.
>>> In relation to each other, the dwarf and the giant are the same size. 
>>> 
>>> As a practical matter, these relations do not depend on one's perspective 
>>> or worldview. It just depends on whether or not you can get all the dwarfs 
>>> and giants to stand next to a measuring tape. That's how you know you've 
>>> got the tallest dwarf in the first place. That's how you know all other 
>>> giants are bigger. These are quantifiable facts and all three sets of 
>>> relations are true at the same time without contradiction. The term 
>>> "relative" can be used to mean "in relation to" or "by comparison with" but 
>>> that doesn't have anything to do with the objectionable philosophical 
>>> stance known as relativism. If we say the dwarf is relatively tall, we 
>>> don't mean his height cannot be determined or that his height depends on 
>>> one's understanding of the term "tall". 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Words and concepts are relational in a similar way. As I like to point out, 
>>> the meaning of the terms "static" and "dynamic" is relational in the sense 
>>> that "static" means the opposite of dynamic and "Dynamic" means the 
>>> opposite of static. The meaning of each term is depends on not being the 
>>> other, the same way hot and cold or short and tall define each other by 
>>> opposition. Words also derive their meaning by virtue of their relation to 
>>> context in which the term is being used. "Tall" can mean "highly 
>>> exaggerated" when we're talking about tales, it can refer to the shape of a 
>>> cocktail glass when talking to a bartender, it can mean "difficult" when 
>>> we're talking about tall orders and tall obstacles. It can refer to a proud 
>>> posture or walking style as well as actual height. Many words are very 
>>> flexible and have many different meanings depending on the context but 
>>> again this is to say that meaning is relational, not relative to the user. 
>>> Words mean what they mean in relation to
>  o
>> th
>>> er words and in relation to the context in which it's being used. In other 
>>> words, we can't isolate the meaning of a term because it derives it's 
>>> meaning from the whole language system. This is the net of jewels idea 
>>> applied to words. Similarly, some philosophers talk about our "web" of 
>>> beliefs. This image get across the idea that some concepts are more central 
>>> than others, which is probably true.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Compared to the top of Mount Everest and the tallest short guy, the Empire 
>>> State Building is shorter and taller at the same time. These are not 
>>> relative truths or opposed claims or two different views. It's merely two 
>>> different comparisons, two different facts. The building is never going to 
>>> be taller than the mountain and it'll never be shorter than any person, not 
>>> even the tallest giant. I don't mean to be some kind of yard-stick 
>>> fundamentalist. I'm just saying that relations are just as real as anything 
>>> else and it's a part of what it means for something to be true and right. 
>>> This could be called relationalism or relationism or wholism or 
>>> contextualism or situationalism. But relativity or relativism is something 
>>> else entirely. It's the philosophical equivalent of combining halitosis 
>>> with leprosy. 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>                                       
>>> 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/md/archives.html
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ___
>> 
>> 
>> 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/md/archives.html
>                                         
> 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/md/archives.html


 
___
 

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/md/archives.html

Reply via email to