Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id LAA14301 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 13 Sep 2000 11:31:29 +0100 Message-ID: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101745A06@inchna.stir.ac.uk> From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk> To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: solipsistic view on memetics Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 11:29:02 +0100 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Content-Type: text/plain Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Do you put the term intellectual in quote marks only in relation to the
western tradition, and if so why? I assume you're implying that it is in
fact an anti-intellectual tradition.
What I find very interesting is the way that so many westerners who reject
the intellectual traditions of the west in favour of the east- even when
they have been to the east (often glowing about its virtues beyond anything
the west can offer)- tend to ignore the major holes in eastern practices
that they can't quite get their heads round.
Now let me see if I can think of an example.... oh yes how about the caste
system? What a wonderful way to treat people (over 100 million are
untouchables in India today was the last figure I saw) and entirely
substantiated and justified by eastern religious traditions.
The reasons 'mystic' has such poor connotations are very good ones- mystics
gain their status and power from taking advantage of, and maintaining, human
ignorance and humans' psychological and emotional weaknesses. They make a
mockery of cause and effect, bleed money by the sackload from people all
over the world, and in many regards can be very simply demonstrated to be
either completely wrong or deliberately faking it. The clue is in the name-
the purpose is to obscure not enlighten, and anyone interested in the
pursuit of knowledge would do well to avoid that route.
Vincent 'Always on the Fence' Campbell
> ----------
> From: Douglas Brooker
> Reply To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2000 9:07 am
> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Subject: Re: solipsistic view on memetics
>
>
> > >>>That's like invoking God or different
> > >>>dimensions to foreclose further questioning; a mystical and anti-
> > >>>intellectual response, indeed.
>
> Mysticism as it is used in the western 'intellectual' tradition
> functions as kind of "cooties" - a dismissive mostly rhetorical term
> to be applied to arguments outside of a set of very rigid and
> formalistic discourse requirements.
>
> This use of 'mystic' is sort of the scholarly equivalent of 'nigger' or
> 'faggot' and has little to do with the mystic tradition, whether it is
> western, eastern or islamic. Most unbecoming behaviour!
>
> I like Clifford Geertz's comment (quoting someone else I think) that
> western 'philosophy is a cultural disease - it can be cured.'
>
> --
>
> ===============================================================
> This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
> Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
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>
===============================================================
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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