Thursday, May 28, 2015

The Argumentum: A Response to the Solipsistic Dominoes of Doom


Make few assumptions.

Begin with a value.

Now accept that the value is radical.

Now apply the radical value to the world as we know it.

Now, there is something you can trust.

Apply math or logic.

Now you have reasoning.

So you have a basis for rationality.

You now have something better than glorified perception.

So now you can afford to be practical, at least.

If you can be practical, that is like absolute knowledge, at least if practicality is what counts, and as long as there is something definite and practical that can be said.

So, you have definite knowledge, from which you can derive definite agency. You're self-determined, because you can make practical choices about rejecting or accepting your values. And what would someone want other than to be practical? It's got to work out somehow.

If you can be practical, you have purpose in life, from which follows ethical knowledge, and from there, ethical practices.

Now it is obvious that there is a collusion between purpose and free-will.

Does this prove Protagoras right? I must plead my own ignorance.

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