-Caveat Lector- The Philosophy of the Lie Edward Britton I am fortunate in that I have more than a healthy suspicion when it comes to pronouncements of absolute truth. No one on this earth makes me more nervous than the individual who expects me to blindly accept, as truth, his or her particular philosophy as the final analysis of and summary statement on any aspect of existence. I am made even more nervous when such an individual asks me to accept a philosophy which, to support itself, negates any one or any part of an aspect of reality which I know to exist. Even though the focus of my current suspicions rests primarily with the philosophy of objectivism--the core tenets of which serve as the motivating and legitimizing agent behind ninety per cent of rightist thought--this suspicion is by no means limited to objectivism. I would hold as suspect any philosophy which demanded that I believe in half-truths or downright lies. Consider the premise upon which all objectivist reasoning is built; that nothing unreal exists; that A always equals A. Automatically, when one makes such a statement, one has taken the responsibility upon him or herself to know what reality is and is not. In the attempt to satisfy that responsibility, an objectivist will assure you that there is no such thing as a first cause of creation--in any form, whether initiated by a deity or evolution--because such a cause cannot be perceived, cannot be observed and cannot be quantified. Any such phenomenon as creation, therefore, does not exist or is irrelevant. Forgetting for the moment why it is necessary for such partisans to subscribe to this denial, there are more than enough examples to prove the elemental fallacy of their argument. Electricity, for example, and before the advent of devices necessary to measure it were available, could not be perceived, observed or quantified in any form other than lightening or static discharge. Even this presupposes that humanity somehow "knew" that lightening or discharge were representations of electricity. Therefore, according to the objectivist, electricity cannot exist and, hence, belief in the existence of same would be considered mysticism. The same holds true for the existence of such phenomena/realities as subatomic matter and gravitational influences on celestial orbits--not to mention a spherical earth. Indeed, were the technological development of the human race left in the capable hands of the objectivist, the sum of our achievement would still be limited only to what we could have done with our five senses--which would, by philosophical necessity, have to be blinded by the negation of any pertinent yet non-observable phenomena. The modern political equivalent of the objectivist, the conservative, thus would have us believe in, or have "faith" in, the noblest and consequent absolutes of individualism and of the fallacy that all that is wrought of an individual comes from the solitary effort of that individual. The objectivist touts the "self-made" man or woman as the pinnacle of human achievement and existence. No wonder he or she has to deny the existence or reality of a creator other than him or herself. To accept the possibility of any opposing reality, even if that reality were in the form of natural evolution, would require the subscriber to such a philosophy to realize that he or she was DEPENDENT upon the creative potential of a being other than him/herself. Such believers would discover that they, no matter how much they believed they had accomplished through their stoic efforts, were still leeching, nay MOOCHING off of someone or something else's creation. The objectivist would have to accept the fact that she or he, just like every other form of life that we are aware of, would be no more than a "parasitic welfare recipient." Knowing this in the core of the objectivist consciousness is, I suspect, why he or she tries so hard to live by the personal, social and political equivalent of a lie. In the objectivist's denial of a reality s/he says--but cannot prove--does not exist, he or she begins to fashion a complex system of deception to, ironically, guard against facing the very reality to which he or she so strongly adheres. The objectivist realizes that his or hers is a system of deception which leads down the same path of mysticism (*belief* in the existence of any phenomena which cannot be immediately perceived, observed or quantified) that he or she so vehemently abhors. As one may imagine, all manner of philosophical chaos is the result. Consider the crowning glory of perhaps the most notable objectivist, Ayn Rand, in her work Atlas Shrugged. In the telling of an otherwise marvelous story--which has become, more or less, the Bible of conservative thought--Rand attempts to render credence to her objectivist philosophy by means of the dishonest and cowardly practice of crippling her opponent's arguments in anything resembling rational, literary dialogue. Her cause and need to deny reality is readily apparent to any reader who finds him or herself marveling at the engineered stupidity of her villains. Consider the need for the objectivist to ignore, or render as invalid, human emotions--especially as manifest through altruism--regardless of the REALITY that we are every bit as much of an emotional animal as a rational one. Why the need to negate this element of the natural state of humanity? Could it be that the objectivist finds him or herself too busy trying to fight the most basic attributes of human existence in order to support his or her "ray screen" of personal deception? Consider the socio-political ramifications of such a massive need for denial. Consider that, despite the clear evidence of the destruction of the planet (e.g., Bophal, India and Love Canal) resulting from allowing those poor, persecuted objectivist pioneers of capitalism (the objectivist's version of the "ideal man" and of economic Utopia) free reign, the objectivist, in his or her denial of environmental reality, insists that such damage does not occur and has never occurred. Even if such damage had occurred, such "mysticism" would be irrelevant. Consider that, despite the objectivist's "moral outrage" over the "theft" of "income re-distribution," crying for the freedom of individuals to pursue their own happiness, the objectivist sits idly by while the government grants preferential treatment to the COLLECTIVE corruption of capitalism: the modern corporation. As their denial of reality negates a rational look at their fascist desires, their blindness to same ensures the fruition of fascism. All government which favors capitalism--even its corruption--is OK with the objectivist, but hell will be to pay for anyone who even suggests a more altruistic use of government. Consider that, despite the scientific evidence proving that all life becomes increasingly MORE DEPENDENT the further up the food chain a species gets, the objectivist somehow manages to hold on to the MYSTICAL (religious) belief that all he or she is and has comes about as the result of his or her own efforts. Never mind the REALITY of such "mystical" details as technological progression, which clearly indicates the DEPENDENCE of all current technology UPON all the achievements of the past. Only the objectivist may suppose that she or he may bring to existence a universe out of his or her own individualistic efforts. Ultimately, throughout our lives, we make a choice regarding what is of primary importance to us. ALL philosophy is designed specifically to bolster that choice. There are as many philosophies as there are choices and, while I may not take particular exception to anyone else's choice or philosophy, I do ask that they be honest in its presentation if they expect me to become a partisan of that choice/philosophy. Conversely, I do not expect anyone to accept my philosophy whatever that may be. The best I can offer, to GIVE or CONTRIBUTE to the development of human existence is to suggest that people do their own thinking. To that extent, I can agree with the objectivist insofar as she or he promotes a similar endeavor. I do not accept any system of thought or any ideal which asks me to ignore what I already know to be reality or a portion thereof. I look for patterns within all philosophies which provide me a greater glimpse at not only the truth, but also of the motives of those who propose that theirs is the only one. I look for what they say as well as what they do not say. I look for patterns in the answers of philosophers to my questions as well as for patterns in the questions they refuse to answer. When I detect a lie or denial, I suspect their cause is evil. John Galt is a lie. He was born of cowardice and lives in the minds of those who accept a lie as the truth. Only the "motor" of such a lie is in question. Edward Britton ><+> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Of course, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong." Dennis Miller http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5285/connector1.html Reality Pump: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/Reality_Pump2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
