Re: [Harp-L] Enough please!

[Vince Meghrouni <Foomcorp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On May 27, 2007, at 2:24 PM, Jeff roulier wrote:

> At 04:15 PM 5/27/2007, you wrote:
>
> > I'm taking all this mystic stuff with a grain of salt myself, but
> > come on, Jeff.  You can't drop "I personally think Western philosophy
> > has afforded us the greater civilization advances than any mysticism
> > can, but that debate belongs on a different list," seriously.  If you
> > don't think the topic belongs on this list, you definitely should not
> > have weighed in on it, which you undeniably did.  It's completely
> > hypocritical.  What, you want the last word?
>
>
> I guess you're correct here.
>
> >  Everybody was.  If you
> > don't think the discussion should be on the list, just say that, but
> > don't thrown in your comment and complain about others who are
> > essentially doing the same thing.
> >
> > What is "western philosophy", by the way?  Fascism?  Free love?
> > Scientology?  Pretty broad little term there, homes.
>
>
> Now who's trying to get the last word?

Well, the thing is, old boy, I'm not the one trying to end the  
discussion - you are.  So for me it's not the last word.  Your  
initial message was, basically:  "This discussion doesn't belong  
here, so lets cut it out - but here's what I have to say about it".   
So you wanted to shut it down, or distance yourself from it, at the  
same time participating.  Me, hey, I'm not trying to shut it down,  
therefore anything I say is not trying to get the last word.
> All I meant by that statement was that Western philosophy from  
> Aristotle and on has set the ground work for all the science we  
> have today.  The cure for polio, TB, and hundreds of other things  
> has come from the ground work that western philosophy provides.   
> Even the harp you play

Sure, same thing can be said for nuclear weapons, global warming, the  
gas chambers, manufactured anthrax.
> P.S. " Fascism? Free love?
> Scientology? comes from mysticism, not any form of rational western  
> philosophies

You can't pick and choose the good things, old boy, and leave behind  
the bad things and claim they are from other lineage.  Western  
mysticism is the mystic branch of any western philosophy there might  
be.  The eugenics that drove Nazi race theory was started here by  
western scientists.  You can't choose the good and claim it if you're  
not willing to admit the bad as well.  So who's your western  
philosopher, anyway?  Schoppenhauer?  Tell you what - you take him,  
I'll take Bertrand Russell.   Nah, I think your definition of  
"western philosophy" is "all the cool things I can name produced  
arguably by 'the west'".
> The debate over philosophy ends here.  I won't reply to any more  
> post if it only about philosophy.

I don't believe that there is any unified western philosophy any more  
than there is a unified eastern philosophy.  And even if there was  
such a thing, the idea that one must choose one over the other is  
absurd to me.  And the idea that, for the sake of argument that there  
were such things as unified western and eastern philosophies, that  
there wouldn't be cross pollination, or at least plenty of room for  
it, and that the cross pollination would not be fruitful, is absurd.   
Once again, you want the last word.  You make a bunch of statements,  
then say "the debate over philosophy ends here".

Oh, and to keep this relevant to the list, what chrome polish is best  
to keep my pocket pal shiny?

Rex "to hell with Hegel"  "Rich" Tobago