Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id QAA17668 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sun, 17 Mar 2002 16:27:28 GMT Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002 11:21:36 -0500 Subject: Re: FW: MD Dawkins on quantum/mysticism convergence Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In-Reply-To: <LAW2-F59Clodm0wGO6l00015a3d@hotmail.com> Message-Id: <0D78E048-39C3-11D6-A6BE-003065B9A95A@harvard.edu> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.481) Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On Sunday, March 17, 2002, at 10:38 , Grant Callaghan wrote:
> To attack such usages for a lack of narrowness is to misunderstand the
> why and how of what the author was doing with his words. For subjects
> like mysticism or religion, we have to resort to metaphor in an attempt
> to explain ideas that are too abstract to be understood through
> language.
I think you're looking at this from the wrong perspective-
What is resorted to in these instances by the con men of mysticism is
obfuscation and charlatanism, in an attempt to extort monies from marks
by fabricating ideas that are too abstract to be either understood or
explained through common language and thus are elucidated with jargon
undecipherable by either party, but that sounds damn impressive, and
might even, from time to time, touch upon some real sense.
The inane prattle of such quacks as Andrew Weil and Deepak Chopra come
to mind.
- Wade
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