From: joedees@bellsouth.net
Date: Sun 24 Nov 2002 - 05:43:32 GMT
> Hi, Richard,
>
> To put this matter of harmony and tolerance into (my) perspective: I
> believe that there is a time for harmony, and a time for war. There
> have been times when I have engaged in either. It is a pragmatic
> issue for me, as one can achieve things that the other can't. Wisdom
> lies in knowing which is more likely to work than the other. And, in
> turn, wisdom depends in part on knowledge.
>
> My fundamental goal is to facilitate the evolution of our species
> towards higher levels of capability and well-being. Generally, I do
> believe that harmony and tolerance will get us there far better than
> intolerance and war, though along the way we may well be called upon
> to engage in the latter. And it is quite possible for people to
> believe in the same goal, but espouse different strategies to attain
> it. The key thing is to maintain useful debate, so that we can, even
> while disagreeing, learn from and with each other.
>
> I know -- motherhood and apple pie! All I can say is, I've loved
> fatherhood and love apple pie.
>
Ypu sound like one of those true believer pacifist-at-any-pricers who, to
off-put the absolutism tag, SAYS that there may sometimes be reasons
IN THEORY for military action, but can never agree to it in answer to
any circumstance that actually in practice comes up, however dire it
might be.
The victory of Radical Islam would be a severe devolution for the race,
setting us back five hundred years as far as the unfettered investigation
of humanity and the universe goes, and as such the threat of same
should give you serious pause.
>
> Cheers,
> Lawry
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk [mailto:fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk]On
> > Behalf Of Richard Brodie Sent: Friday, November 22, 2002 11:04 PM
> > To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: RE: Islam and Europe
> >
> >
> > Joe wrote:
> >
> > <<You're talking attitude engineering and self-programmed control;
> > Richard Brodie is deeply into this, and he has some good points to
> > make - my only problem with his position is that he seems to value
> > comforting lies over unsettling truths, and I would rather be a
> > Socrates unsatisfied than a satisfied newage white-light fluffybunny
> > (not that I am imputing either of those positions to you). For me,
> > on a deeper level, knowing is more important than feeling good, if
> > they must come into conflict.>>
> >
> > I'm flattered you've familiarized yourself with my philosophical
> > meanderings. It's not for the sake of comfort that I suggest
> > choosing memes that aren't obviously true... it's for the sake of
> > what you consider most important. For you, deep knowing is
> > apparently of major importance. For others, it is not. I think
> > Lawry, for example, values harmony and tolerance far more than you
> > do. The memes he chooses may support that, and he may not pay much
> > attention to points of view that lead to the conclusion that a
> > certain culture is irreparably anathema to our own. If his chosen
> > purpose in life is to be a force for harmony and tolerance, he will
> > naturally come into conflict with someone such as you who puts forth
> > such a barrage of evidence counter to his core values.
> >
> > I appreciate the value both of you bring to this discussion.
> >
> > Richard Brodie
> > www.memecentral.com
> >
> >
> > =============================================================== This
> > was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of
> > Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For
> > information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see:
> > http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
> >
>
>
>
> ===============================================================
> This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
> Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
> For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
> see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
>
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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