tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post1208413632073862711..comments2023-11-03T11:32:01.540+00:00Comments on Thought Experiments : The Blog: Thought ExperimentBryan Appleyardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-51702824592672412852008-08-05T06:45:00.000+00:002008-08-05T06:45:00.000+00:00Gordon McCabe's suggestions are good ones, but I c...Gordon McCabe's suggestions are good ones, but I could see perils:<BR/><BR/>(i) Start by postulating an objective world, and then understand and derive the conditions which create different subjective perspectives upon that objective world.<BR/><BR/>Here, one could end up, because of the notion one had of the nature of the objective world, deciding that only certain renderings of subjectivity Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467412541030183747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-89257521401804638042008-08-05T02:38:00.000+00:002008-08-05T02:38:00.000+00:00'In the end, I write about personal stuff because ...'In the end, I write about personal stuff because I can't write with the same accuracy about anything else.'<BR/><BR/>Interesting but I would think the opposite would be true. Personally, I would be much more accurate writing about things I know nothing about then I ever could writing about personal stuff. Or maybe not.Tom P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05638283790763940692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-25324866691318295172008-08-04T22:46:00.000+00:002008-08-04T22:46:00.000+00:00Why do we read the great non-fiction writers of th...Why do we read the great non-fiction writers of the past? I'd suggest it is because first they were great writers and second they tell us something that's as interesting about what it is to be human as it was the day they wrote it. They were open-minded, curious, inquiring and scrupulously honest. And all they can do, through their writing, is offer those qualities to us.<BR/><BR/>Truth can be Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06074816573442173758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-88658782944308859542008-08-04T15:41:00.000+00:002008-08-04T15:41:00.000+00:00What is truth? P. PilatePeople can take everything...What is truth? <BR/><BR/>P. Pilate<BR/><BR/>People can take everything away from you<BR/>But they can never take away your truth<BR/>But the question is..<BR/>Can you handle mine?<BR/><BR/>B. Spears, My Prerogative<BR/><BR/>Generally speaking discussions as to whether truth is possible or not are a luxury afforded to those living in societies where they don't need to worry about the answer. MindAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-61829184416245538292008-08-04T13:32:00.000+00:002008-08-04T13:32:00.000+00:00i think this statement is potentially useful, but ...i think this statement is potentially useful, but one must look at it in a slightly different way. instead of looking at my own personal experience as NECESSARILY the subject about which i can speak most clearly, we can recognize that we must -- as you point to -- become aware of our own experience in order to dispel the distortions, rooted in ignorance, that make our "personal stuff" James Markshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13496398783757113686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-83579866869544089932008-08-04T12:15:00.000+00:002008-08-04T12:15:00.000+00:00If the notion of subjectivity is to be meaningful,...If the notion of subjectivity is to be meaningful, then there needs to be some notion of objectivity with which it is contrasted. One can then imagine at least two different approaches to defining the distinction between objectivity and subjectivity:<BR/><BR/>(i) Start by postulating an objective world, and then understand and derive the conditions which create different subjective perspectives Gordon McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09151162643523937086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-11744776538165308782008-08-04T11:38:00.000+00:002008-08-04T11:38:00.000+00:00William Leith 'genuinely self-deprecating'? You su...William Leith 'genuinely self-deprecating'? You sure about that, Bryan?Nigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13314891387515045404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-84937259766036335182008-08-04T11:37:00.000+00:002008-08-04T11:37:00.000+00:00I'm not sure a confession is required - is the rea...I'm not sure a confession is required - is the reader not aware it is the author's viewpoint whether it's about something real or made-up. <BR/><BR/>I prefer conceit in journalism, it's more entertaining, money well spent! ''...it's a fact that..'' He he he.Ian russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11106519805045337505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-32104002004954642202008-08-04T10:58:00.000+00:002008-08-04T10:58:00.000+00:00'I have a pain', and 'There is a pain in the room....'I have a pain', and 'There is a pain in the room.'<BR/><BR/>Why can't they both be true? Why only one and not the other. Well, presuming that I am in the room?<BR/><BR/>I agree with Susan. Subjectivity is always involved even if we don't want it to be (though research and fact checking can restrain its worst excesses, no doubt).<BR/><BR/>I think there may be a difference of relevance here Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467412541030183747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-78723940839284539722008-08-04T10:54:00.000+00:002008-08-04T10:54:00.000+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467412541030183747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-22738796879945387182008-08-04T10:25:00.000+00:002008-08-04T10:25:00.000+00:00But acting "as if truth is possible" is ...But acting "as if truth is possible" is not the same as it's actually BEING possible. Tom Wolfe ushered in the "I" voice in journalism because it's ridiculous to assume we can witness something without its being subjective. It IS filtered through the writer. This is true in journalism and, sadly, it's even true in science. <BR/><BR/>You have only to read those Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com