From: Grant Callaghan (grantc4@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri 22 Nov 2002 - 04:32:57 GMT
> > >
> > > > >
> > > > >The TRUTH of today's world is a different meme than the TRUTH
> > > > >that comes to us through religion. Only one of them prepares us
> > > > >to face the world of the 21st century, and it's not religious
> > > > >TRUTH.
> > > > >
> > > > >Grant
> > > >
> > > > Your notion of what "religious TRUTH" is, is itself a meme.
> > > >
> > >Truth is that statement which "faithfully" represents that personal,
> > >social, historical or empirical state or process of affairs to which
> > >it purports to refer. Thus statements that do not congruently
> > >correspond to their objects are untrue. A good indicator of this
> > >condition is when the statement in question is contradicted by
> > >contiguous truths rather than seamlessly cohere with them. An
> > >indicator that the statement is neither true nor false, but is
> > >instead meaningless, is a logical flaw, such as internal
> > >self-contradiction.
> > > >
> > > > I would argue, from my memetic constructs, that true religion is
> > > > the ability to find the truth for yourself with the aid of
> > > > religious texts, which contain the clues left behind by those who
> > > > have travelled the path. But if you lack the fundamental question
> > > > that illuminates the esoteric meaning in religious texts and
> > > > renders them "alive," then you are interfacing with those texts on
> > > > an exoteric level that sees them in terms of logic and analysis,
> > > > comparison and evaluation. Fundamental human experience is the
> > > > same now as before; that is not to venerate the past, but it is
> > > > also not to discount the value of wisdom. Life is what you make
> > > > it, and so are religious texts. When you approach something to
> > > > discover the truth hidden in it, the contradictions that are
> > > > revealed are in yourself, not in the text. Then you smile at your
> > > > own imperfection.
> > > >
> > >And at blatant empirical errors inscribed in a less knowledgeable
> > >time, yet still venerated as Holy Gospel Writ by the True Believer
> > >who refuses to allow facts or logic to intervene.
> > > >
> > > > Language itself -- religious texts themselves -- do not contain
> > > > memes. Memes are formed by your interpretation of the text, i.e.
> > > > the integration of that text into your existing belief-space,
> > > > related to your existing memetic constructs. Dreams can introduce
> > > > memes to you; from where do they originate?
> > > >
> > >From prior experience. But memes are formed by the encounter of the
> > >message with the apprehender; in the absence of either, they cannot
> > >inhere.
> > > >
> > > > JS Gilbert
> > > >
> > > > "ekei eimi en meswi autwn"
> > > >
> > I see memes as concepts we contribute to the body of culture we share
> > with other members of that culture. The meme is what we share, not
> > what exists only within our minds. What we call truth is formed on
> > the anvil of exchanging ideas and opinions. Each of us has a map of
> > the world in our minds but the map we share is usually considered more
> > true by society than our personal map. That's because our view of the
> > world is restricted to a single pair of eyes. Our culture provides a
> > view through many eyes. It gives us a chance to compare what we see
> > with what others see and to come to a consensus about what the things
> > we see should be called. IMHO.
> >
>In Existential Phenomenology, this is known as the fact that 'objectivity'
>is actually intersubjectivity.
> >
> > Grant
> >
I'm glad to know Existential socity has a name for it. I'll try to remember
it long enough to use it in my discourse. ;)
Grant
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