>Throughout history, people have used their understanding of the way the
>universe works to determine and justify the way they run their lives and
>their society. That's why I'm running the two areas of inquiry together in
>this essay. What I've written above is in a way no better than a
>metaphor for that. If it only gives us a better standard of introspection,
>though, it will be an improved guideline for discourse in the phase space
>of ideas that we are all exploring through this listserve and elsewhere in
>our lives.
>
>Don't you think that makes some sense?
>
>If you think it does, thank you, and stop using terms like "absolute
>truth."
>
David, your essay is very thoughtful and sensible, except the last sentence.
No one is going to stop using the terms if they believe them (and I'm not
one of them), they will simply argue that your wrong. That's the fun of
argument of this nature. Telling people to stop using a term seems
equivalent to saying that there wrong and your right, which seems to be
suggesting a truth as well. I hope you see my point. I've basically tried to
argue why the term isn't useful, but I realize that it *will* be used,
that's the nature of language, i.e. x not x, one is defined against the other.
P.S. where's your signature? It's always nice to have that at the end of
your post.
-----
Bill Godby
wgodby@tir.com