" Assume language is an attempt to classify a more or less shared approximate universe in which there are not always clear distinctions between groups of similar individuals "

Are you saying the universe is ambiguous?

I happen to think so. From my perspective, we can only share a good deal of our perceptions because we have made explicit agreements with each other on how to perceive the world. (I mean 'agreements' in a loose sense; it's more like we have evolved to perceive the world in a certain arbitrary way)

If my assessment is correct, then two consequences seem to follow necessarily. First, the agreement is only possible because some of our ideas are absolute truths; logic would be one of them. Second, if we perceive the world the way we do as a result of an arbitrary choice in our evolutionary past, then there must be several other ways of perceiving the world.

What I like about the above is that the first consequence implies that much of science is absolutely true, while the second implies any form of religion can be true to a person who understands it.

• "What I like about the above" - quiet - May 1, 2003 - 17:37 UTC
  • Truth is the sound of one hand clapping - aurino_s - May 1, 2003 - 19:18 UTC
    • So, you're defining truth through metaphor - quiet - May 1, 2003 - 22:18 UTC
      • I'm not defining anything - aurino_s - May 2, 2003 - 13:28 UTC
• No ambiguity - jetty - May 1, 2003 - 17:50 UTC
  • I'm quite sure that I'm not sure - aurino_s - May 1, 2003 - 19:44 UTC
    • According to DocDick - yaniru - May 2, 2003 - 13:27 UTC
      • According to DD... - aurino_s - May 2, 2003 - 13:31 UTC
        • in my review of his preface and 1st chapter - sagefr0g - May 2, 2003 - 16:30 UTC
          • Actually... - aurino_s - May 2, 2003 - 16:43 UTC
            • really - sagefr0g - May 2, 2003 - 18:59 UTC