Or discovered, rather. Or in many cases confirmed. You may not exactly remember that fire is the phenomenon of combustion manifested in light, flame, and heat, but no one forgets being burned.
As it pertains to the vertical, one can learn a great deal without ever discovering anything. Come to think of it, this applies to every reality transcending matter: even a lifetime of learning may or may not result in the discovery of truth.
For example, the most learned feminist will, by definition, never discover human nature. Except in an inverse manner, in that the feminist must have an implicit awareness of human nature in order to be in rebellion against it.
By the way, in order for this psychodrama of rebellion to be successful, you and I must be enlisted into it. Truth requires the adherence of no one in order to be true, but the fragile lies of the left require everyone to be on board. Dissent provokes an unconscious reminder to their own denied truth, which is precisely why it "triggers" them.
"White fragility"? The very concept is proof of the fragility of the leftist hivemind.
If something triggers you, it is because of an unresolved unconscious emotional issue. The triggering puts you at a crossroads: introspection or acting out. Woke culture is the institutionalization of the latter. What they call activism the clinical psychologist calls acting-out.
Anyway, I've been reading Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange's Reality (see sidebar), and a good working definition of reality is what is and what is capable of being discovered; it is not imagined, or projected, or conceptualized (except to the extent that concepts function as points of reference that are fungible to reality). Or in the words of the Aphorist,
Nearly every idea is an overdrawn check that circulates until it is presented for payment.
The First Bank of Thomism always has sufficient funds to cover checks drawn on it, even the biggest, e.g., God.
True, God is infinite while the funds are finite. But here God is analogous to the concept of money itself, as opposed to any particular sum. In other words, money -- i.e., value -- is backed by God. No God, no value, period. Rather, you just make it up -- as in the way a feminist "values" womanhood. Where the mere prostitute sells her womanhood for cash, the gender studies professor sells it for cash and tenure.
To extend the banking analogy, the proofs of God allow us to open the account. They are more than adequate to function as collateral. We know in an indirect way that they are true, since we derive so much value from them and write so many checks. These checks would all bounce if not for the God reserve.
Not only do they not bounce, they fund an explosion of wealth and productivity, very much like the bank that lends money to fund more investment and construction. This is precisely how the God account functions. Ultimately it built western civilization, from art to science to liberal democracy. Nor -- as anyone can see -- can our civilization perdure without this backing (which is again the backing of reality).
Back to the stuff I discovered yesterday about reality. For example, this:
when the soul knows necessary and universal principles, it becomes, in some real fashion, all intelligible reality. This truth presupposes the immateriality of the intellective faculty.
"A lot to unpack" there, as they say. The first sentence specifies not whether but when we know necessary and universal principles.
Wait -- is that debate over? Well, either it is or it isn't; if it is over, it is because we have plenty of God in the bank. If it isn't, it is because there is Nothing in the bank, in which case two things: 1) the debate is not over, and 2) can never be over. But this reduces to: there is nothing to debate; or to a debate about nothing, AKA postmodernity.
The second part of the first sentence claims that the intellect is in some sense "all of intelligible reality." This looks like a rather large claim, but here again, it is either true or not true, simple as.
Here's a thought: on what can all intelligent men agree, by virtue of being intelligent?
Well? I suppose it depends on what we mean by "intelligence."
Yes, Petey? It means that in knowing any truth, the intellect must in principle be capable of knowing any and all truth. For what is truth? Correct: intelligible being. And what is intelligence? Correct: the potential to know intelligible being. And who can put a limit to the intellect? The intellect? Yes, but only arbitrarily.
Man is the microcosm. As such, he has essentially unlimited funds in a local branch of the Macrocosmic Savings & Loan.
I would go even further and say that the Macrocosm is backed by the infinite funds of the nonlocal Metacosm, somewhat like vine to branch to fruit. Our knowledge is the fruit, but fruit doesn't just grow on trees, unless we're talking about an upside-down tree with its roots aloft and branches herebelow.
Necessary and Universal. What are those? Oh, little things like the principle of non-contradiction, or of identity: that things either are or are not. In short, all knowledge reduces to the question of being: does this exist? Is this the case? Then it is true.
Note that all philosophies derived from Kant enclose us in our own subjectivity. Thus, even if they were true, we could never know it. Existence detached from being is like a tree with no roots. No fruit for you!
This is why the left is equal parts cynicism and credulity. Cynicism is too easy. Think of the sneer on Bill Maher's ugly face, forever. Credulity is much too difficult. Have you seen a Jen Psaki press conference? Imagine being as dumb as her, and then realize that the press must be even dumber. The credulity of the press is ordered to the incredible Biden administration, which is in turn ordered to....
Yes, the left is overdrawn again. And yes, they're printing money as fast as they can. But inflation isn't just a monetary problem. Rather, it must be the reflection of an intellectual and ultimately spiritual problem -- a loss of contact with reality and real value.
Put it this way: the left is usually bankrupt in every way except monetarily. The return of stagflation means they've run out of other people's money again.
13 comments:
Wait -- is that debate over? Well, either it is or it isn't; if it is over, it is because we have plenty of God in the bank. If it isn't, it is because there is Nothing in the bank, in which case two things: 1) the debate is not over, and 2) can never be over. But this reduces to: there is nothing to debate; or to a debate about nothing, AKA postmodernity.
This points to why leftism, within itself, becomes ever more fractured as people keep finding finer and finer points to debate about. Thus there aren't just two sexes, there are 50 or a hundred. They get lost in the minutiae of perceived exceptions, smashing the person in order to classify it by its atoms. This, too, is why they rack up intersectionality points and have no problem with dissecting the unborn and using the pieces for horrifying experiments.
Stuff encountered in today's reading, Cur Deus Verba: Why the Word Became Words:
"tradition, the process whereby a society hands down its interior wealth to the next generation."
also, "that collective interior wealth of a society that holds it together and gives it identity and continuity."
The Church "must have a supernatural Tradition by which she hands on to the next generation her interior wealth, namely the very mind of Christ."
"human reason is by nature dependent on society's communal intellectual wealth, which is tradition"
Now there's an interesting idea. I was just reading this morning about the consequences when someone builds a business, and instead of passing that wealth along to the next generation they cash out. Almost inevitably, whatever they built becomes unrecognizable in short order, if not outright destroyed.
I appreciated the post, and an opportunity to air my views on white fragility.
Whites probably can't see their fragility, which is why it has to be pointed out to them.
The central problem has to do with being unable to tolerate constructive criticism, as a group.
IQ is an example. Any suggestion that whites have generally low IQ's is met with hostility. Now low IQ does happen and it is more probably due to poor diet or ingestion of environmental lead than an intrinsic weakness, although there may be some of that as well. Nevertheless, you will never hear a white person admit there may be a low IQ issue among whites. Even in blighted areas like the Appalachians, the folk will describe themselves as quite intelligent, even though unable to name popular TV show personalities that everyone should know.
Laziness. Yes, I know. An ugly label. But if the shoe fits...
Why don't whites tend to their own landscaping? Left to their own devices the yard soon resembles a kudzu patch with broken down cars hidden in it.
Fragility. What me? Who, us? Yes, you. All of you. Work on it.
-Black Mamba
The theory of White Fragility accounts for black failure. Like how witchcraft accounts for crop failure.
Some consider the compulsive reading of religio-philosophical treatise to be a complete waste of time, especially if one doesn’t hasn’t crafted a lucrative grift involving such.
Publicly, I tell those people that it’s a free country and that they can go fuck themselves. But privately, part of me tends to agree. So I’ve been supplementing my religio-philosophical wasting of precious time with reading up about the ancient Romans.
Since everything I needed to know about plutocratic Rome I learned back in kindergarten, I became curious about what life was like for the regular Joes who formed the vast majority of the Roman citizenry. I soon found a tale of three Josephs. Originally from Judea, after that nation had been defeated and looted by the Romans during their big rebellion, the three Josephs were brought to Rome and sold as slaves with the proceeds used to help finance the infamous Flavian Amphitheatre. After a period of service their Roman master freed the three Josephs, who strangely to me, became Roman citizens and happily lived out the rest of their lives in that city as part of the common mob plebeocracy.
The typical daily life for the plebeocracy involved “living” inside a tiny insulae fit only for sleeping, then heading out to the streets for all their daily food, bathing, entertainment and excrementation needs. Most of these things were provided by the Roman government for free. I use the term “free” loosely, since as our three Josephs learned, the entire Roman government was mostly financed via their loot-n-slave conquest/tax economy.
The occasional gig work did come along which was often in construction for yet another magnificent aqueduct or basilica funded mostly by conquest. For the rest, the patrician elites happily paid taxes knowing that keeping the mob fed, washed, and entertained would mitigate any mob angst against the status quo. For the plebes part, money earned from gigs was usually used to buy sex, alcohol and delicacies which kept them satisfied.
I wondered why the three Josephs didn’t go back to Judea to become freedom fighters and live with their kinfolk and birth customs and wailing walls. The truth is, they preferred their new lifestyle. Since America has abandoned its middle class American Dream economy, I wonder if this model wouldn’t work for America in some brave new future. Even the ancient Romans knew that preaching religio-philosophical “realities” and building all those temples all over the place, wouldn’t be enough to keep their plebes occupied.
Black Mamba, I do all my own landscaping. It's my hobby. I live on forest acreage which I've turned into my own little slice of Eden. I've even adapted to the obvious results of climate change.
Yet my evangelical conservative family thinks me crazy. Surely I don't understand the benefits of a vulgar display of wealth enjoyed when employing gangs of Mexicans?
Actually, I employ them in practical ways, such as in doing all the heavy lifting and risky high climbing. My mostly young techie neighbors smile with approval when, instead of my strong white male self doing such menial labor, I have little Mexicans all Spanish jibber-jabbery running around doing such things. Very fashionable and stylish. I still have to occasionally tell the young techies that I come from the old school generation, Bob Vila do-it-yourself, and pretend to be independently wealthy/retired instead of working part time to supplement after my job was sent overseas so the CEO could have his golden parachute. But they'll learn soon enough. Forty is considered retirement age for all but the best-connected techies. For any young techies reading now, best start your spinoff company now.
None of these techies are black (though from a distance East Indian techies may appear so). I appreciate where Bob tells them that they're stupid losers here, instead of me having to go out to their hoods and get my ass kicked after telling them there. It's a useful service methinks.
And BTW, the reason why China is kicking America's ass isn't because they're leftist. It's because they have higher IQs. Now if I could only figure out how to just double my fashionable stylishness by hiring only Chinese to do my menial labor!
Hello Anonymous 11:53/11:57
Mexicans and Chinese have a long and colorful history of living and working in the USA. Now many Americans have Mexican and Chinese surnames and bloodlines. It is not that these groups are smarter or more motivated than European/Slavic bloc. The English have done well for themselves here too.
Now is China really kicking America's ass? In what way?
We have to ask ourselves what we want as Americans. We have good food, entertainment, housing, etc. Is there really anything else we can achieve here? What would that be?
"Utopia" gets kicked around here sometimes, but the evidence shows we reached that long ago and it still wasn't enough to make us happy.
Elon says let's go to Mars. Now that is something I can get behind.
Elon says Dogecoin is good but that doesn't mean Bitcoin is not. If is very vague and confusing.
BBQ. This is of the essence. I think BBQ encompasses the essence of being human. Recall killing the giant sloth and eating him in a group? That is utopia.
And then taming the dogs hanging around the camp-icing on the cake.
-Black Dog
Don't you have a birthing parent to pester today?
Now is China really kicking America's ass? In what way?
When I was a kid my world history book chapter about China had pictures of hundreds of Chinese workers carrying buckets of mud on their heads, trying to build a dam. It later collapsed. They were said to have bought a used 707 jet and took it apart for the purpose of reverse engineering it to try and build their own jet. It crashed.
Today they lead the world in skyscrapers, manufacturing, networking technologies, renewables and high speed rail. Maybe you're aware of where these things have collapsed or crashed?
Post a Comment