"Existence exists" is very tempting, but the only one of Rand's axioms
that I have seen demonstrated to my satisfaction is that I am aware of
my own existence. (That goes back at least to Descartes's "cogito
ergo sum.") As for "things are what they are," that may be valid, but
it's not terribly useful: it doesn't give us any necessary connection
between what is and what we perceive, or say anything about the ways
in which things change.
Vicki
rosenzweig@acm.org
----------
From: owner-virus
To: virus
Subject: Re: virus: C of V: Another Religion
Date: Wednesday, January 29, 1997 5:33PM
At 02:43 PM 1/29/97 EST, David Rosdeitcher wrote:
> Objectivist philosopher, Ayn Rand, made an important discovery: the 3
>philosophical axioms. Axioms are basic concepts that are implicit in any
>statement about reality. Rand's 3 axioms are: 1) Existence-an external
reality
>exists. 2) Consciousness-there is an awareness of existence.
>3)Identity-Things
>are what they are-A is A. These are axioms because and attempt to deny them
>would be self-refuting.
I like the formalization. Complete, concise, and eminently logical. On the
other hand, it's depressing when you realize that some people need a formal
definition for an immediately obvious, universally held truth (which is
essentially what "axiom" means).
> It seems to me that the Church of Virus is promoting a mystical notion
by
>denying free will and claiming that the 'meme' is a higher power that
controls
>individuals and societies. While the 'meme' is a useful concept to
understand
>and influence the spread of ideas within oneself and throughout society,
the
>Church of Virus is using 'memes' to create a new religion in which one
false
>higher authority is replaced with another. I am suggesting that there is
>something in the brain that is not understood yet which can accout for free
>will. What do you think?
> -David
Rosdeitcher
I think you're misrepresenting CoV. The "Church" part of the title, if I'm
not mistaken, is meant as a sort of tounge-in-cheek sub-reference to one of
humanity's most powerful and enduring meme-complexes: religion. I think you
got it right when you said:
..the 'meme' is a useful concept to understand and influence
the spread of ideas within oneself and throughout society...
My take on the tone and inferences of the literature don't correlate with
your interpretation. On the other hand, I haven't read it all....
Dan
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The Metasystem Transition History of the "Dan Plante" System
initial conditions = data (conception)
control of data = information (conception to puberty)
control of information = knowledge (puberty to marriage)
control of knowledge = wisdom (marriage to divorce)
-------------------------------------------------------------