tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post5838034143153633812..comments2023-11-03T11:32:01.540+00:00Comments on Thought Experiments : The Blog: Duck and CivilisationBryan Appleyardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08276787058430388582noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-23525032077135002982008-07-13T11:28:00.000+00:002008-07-13T11:28:00.000+00:00Gordon:But can you be 'progressive' without being ...Gordon:<BR/><BR/>But can you be 'progressive' without being utopian? What are you progressing towards?Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00390560583798960760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-4699169473761344032008-07-13T07:01:00.000+00:002008-07-13T07:01:00.000+00:00I think it was Rand who said the purpose of civili...I think it was Rand who said the purpose of civilization is to free us from the tribe.<BR/><BR/>We to some extent are all Utopians, our brains are looking for and longing for, the perfect pattern (our brains are wired for Inductive thinking, its the default position)<BR/><BR/>But when you think about it "deductively" your realise that perfection itself is what is imperfect, the universe and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-45913628281334229412008-07-13T03:20:00.000+00:002008-07-13T03:20:00.000+00:00How do we know that civilisation rather than redee...How do we know that civilisation rather than redeeming isn't the wild condition in itself.Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442327549417743472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-83766916234060979272008-07-13T02:06:00.000+00:002008-07-13T02:06:00.000+00:00Does anyone read Arnold Toynbee or Christopher Daw...Does anyone read Arnold Toynbee or Christopher Dawson anymore?Frank Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18410473158808750903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-6675729723592429372008-07-12T15:52:00.000+00:002008-07-12T15:52:00.000+00:00BryanThat's a reasonable sounding defense of civil...Bryan<BR/><BR/>That's a reasonable sounding defense of civilization, but ultimately unconvincing. If you trace the roots of that thing we call civilization today, you'll find several strains of utopian ideas in the cultural DNA. Most recently is the event called the Enlightenment. The American Revolution was as well, which may explain our differing perspectives.<BR/><BR/>Also, I think you mistakeDuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08852569465893563139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23400750.post-2846996221538481212008-07-12T13:03:00.000+00:002008-07-12T13:03:00.000+00:00There aren't many genuine utopians, people who wou...There aren't many genuine utopians, people who would argue for the possibility of attaining a perfect society, in Western politics these days. It seems instead that those of a so-called progressive tendency, are often labelled as utopians by those of a conservative tendency. Having mis-represented the beliefs of the progressives as utopian, the conservatives ridicule the possibility of such Gordon McCabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09151162643523937086noreply@blogger.com