Serpent » November 23rd, 2016, 11:13 pm wrote:Mossling » November 23rd, 2016, 12:56 am wrote:Everyone is a liar - as soon as you communicate a concept as 'the absolute truth' as it appears to you, you have spoken a lie.
But who, except the pope, ever claims to have an absolute truth? Who claimed to have, and who asked for "absolute" in political reportage, or in a campaign speech?
It's not about claims, it's about aspirations - the reason I don't really care about what the Pope thinks is because I've heard he believes that snakes can talk and that Adam made Eve and all that weird stuff that has no apparent root in the observable practical world in which I live.
He deals in strange relative truths - relative to a book full of ghosties and goblins. Similarly, I'm not discussing this topic over on 'psychoticchatforum.com' because I am aware that they also do not aspire towards having their relative truths approximate as best as possible the practical 'absolute' world - the physical truth that governs life and death. So the importance is not to speak absolute truths but to recognise the importance of absolute truths as necessary practical concerns. This is what this forum is all about, is it not? - Attempting to bring our perceptions into harmony with objectivity as best we can.
Now turning that intention towards the people that indulge in the post-truth situation, it could be said that it is naïve to believe that there is no connection between hungry kids and a lying President.
Already the post-truth fallout is appearing; Trump's wall plan has gone, sending Hilary to prison has gone, and next it looks pretty certain that Apple isn't going to bring it's main production factories to America.
As I have been saying, strap yourself in, sit back, and watch the show - the proof; the truth, is in the pudding-eating.
I predict that post-truth politics is going to be a case-study of profound measure in a future history book. That time when a democratic population consciously voted in an unabashed known liar - someone who didn't give a crap about the absolute, objective truth - to the most powerful position in the world.
You seem concerned about hungry kids, but who should care? That's probably just a lie made up to get more free money from us rich people - I don't see any hungry kids around here, do you? - Do you see where post-truth is heading? If it isn't in the rich guy's newspaper then it simply doesn't exist.
With regards to this assertion that highlighting the difference between relative and absolute truth is "subtle", including the aspirations to bring the two into harmony, I say that it is as subtle as presenting hard evidence in a court of law - I.e pretty obvious as to its everyday importance. Obama even published his birth certificate to discredit a relative truth asserted about his nationality.
You say that you are not interested in the sophists, but these guys were the first proper lawyers. That's the truth, so it's up to you to educate yourself, or soon enough you'll find yourself in a real Idiocracy (watch the movie - we're already one step closer...).