Private Truths

[Khandro]

In an essay, only recently published, entitled 'The Validity of Artificial Distinctions' written in 1915 at Oxford, the young T.S.Eliot wrote;
"... any philosophic explanation which involves the taking over of a term or terms from daily use and disposing the rest of reality according to them - and this is a procedure which enters inevitably into every philosophic progress - is an explanation which is lamentably deficient.
You not only cannot prove your result: you cannot within the rights of your own conscience impose it upon your neighbour. It can only be maintained by faith, a faith which like all faith, should be seasoned with a sauce of scepticism. And scepticism too is a faith, a high and difficult one."

Would it not be beneficial to discussion if all R&S, ABers of whatever leaning and conviction, considered these words before posting?

[Hypognosis]

Khandro's own opinion on anything would be most welcome, in this section, so we can debate it on its merits. Why he feels the need to borrow the thoughts of other people, I do not know.

Unless this is the normal way that people go about finding things to make their dinner conversation interesting?

[naomi24]

//Khandro's own opinion on anything would be most welcome, in this section, so we can debate it on its merits. Why he feels the need to borrow the thoughts of other people, I do not know. //

I've said exactly that in the past.

[Khandro]

Hypo; Re. my own opinion; 09:01 Fri./ 00:55 Sat. / 19:29 Sat. all contain my opinions, why do you have a problem?
As I am in agreement with what T'S.E. said, quoted in the OP (I see though I should have left out the last sentence) I have nothing to say to the contrary and was interested in the views of others, particularly in relation to some posts in R&S.
We do not simply "borrow" the thoughts of other people (how would we return them?) we accept them with enthusiasm and meld them into our own outlook which in each individual is a pot-pourri of gathered thoughts and information. The scientist does not have to start each day by inventing the periodic table.

[Hypognosis]

Okay. So you want to strike out the last sentence of the quote (re scepticism is a faith) from the OP?

Good move.

But the closing paragraph is basically saying that you wish people would be more sceptical about the things they say in their contributions to R&S?

Both theists and scientists/atheists, in fact.




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