Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id VAA19247 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Thu, 14 Sep 2000 21:27:17 +0100 To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 13:24:21 -0700 From: "Scott Chase" <hemidactylus@my-Deja.com> Message-ID: <DKLBGPCIHLDBDAAA@my-deja.com> X-Sent-Mail: off X-Mailer: MailCity Service Subject: RE: solipsistic view on memetics X-Sender-Ip: 209.240.200.114 Organization: My Deja Email (http://www.my-deja.com:80) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Language: en Content-Length: 2161 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
--On Wed, 13 Sep 2000 08:44:54 Wade T.Smith wrote: >On 09/13/00 06:29, Vincent Campbell said this- > >>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. > >Actually, the word 'mystic' has pleasant connotations to me, I grew up >near there, a charming seacoast and harbor village in Connecticut.... > >And I don't _try_ to confuse it with 'psychic', and I rather like the >poetry of Blake, and even the somatic mysticism of Lawrence. 'Mysticism' >is, I suspect, rudely transported to the newage (rhymes with sewage) >religions and groups, desperate to hinge their shallow gloss of a >philosophy onto something that, at one time at least, had _some_ meat on >its bones. > >I'm especially gleeful when I see aura readers and tarot card hucksters >claiming to be 'metaphysicians'. In the same sort of way I chuckle when I >see someone claim to be a 'memetic engineer'.... > >What a world. > > The word "psychic" wouldn't be so bad if it merely meant something pertaining to the psyche (a rough synonym of mind). Somewhere along the line "psychic" got latched with crystal balls, tarot cards, telepathy, ESPN, and other goofy stuff like that. I guess I won't be using the word "psychic" then, though I thought I'd point out this interesting connatative twist.
I tried sending this reply twice yeasterday, but deja.com has been in the process of switching e-mail providers so it appears my attempts were unsuccessful.
Scott "reading some Lucien Levy-Bruhl to explore his collective representations" Chase
--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==-- Before you buy.
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