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December 08, 2006
Interior Monologue that Collapses
People who claim to believe in reason are notorious for not being able to apply reason. It’s as if they didn’t need to bother, in a kind of “do as I say, not as I do,” atmosphere. They simply see that by claiming reason as the foundation of their belief system, no one can dispute them, since belief in reason is the reasonable belief par excellence. And that is quite enough paradox for them, thank you, quite fatiguing to have to think about anything for five seconds, it is! Yes, it is the belief in dispassionate observation, and the idea that all things are solvable if you give them time and look at them hard enough. Who can argue with that? If you try, the response is, “I am sure there is an explanation.” Reason is the method that is proposed for the explanation for everything. All one has to do is believe in this method; one doesn’t have to actually employ the method, but just assert it in the face of anyone who proposes to discuss what look like exceptions to the findings of others who have employed this method. Do not inquire about the foundations of this building. It is built on solid ground. Did those others, in fact, who established these truths you are smugly sitting on, use reason to establish them? I just said: Don’t ask that! One is not required themselves to demonstrate that they can live or think by this method, luckily--ha, ha! for no one can! We know that. It is all a game of reference. Help, the sand is shifting and the ground is falling away! Where did I park my car!
Posted by mortimer at December 8, 2006 03:30 PM