[lbo-talk] Real/unreal - so what ?

[boddi satva]

On Mon, Sep 1, 2008 at 8:35 AM, martin <mschiller at pobox.com> wrote:
>
> On Aug 31, 2008, at 11:34 PM, boddi satva wrote:
>
>> Infinity - to me - is just a mathematical approximation. I just don't
>> see an more meaning in it than that. I'm sure my instinct is weird or
>> something, but I see myself as a completely temporal, animal being.
>
> Not at all. It's precisely because infinity is a greater power that you have
> to use the idea of 'mathematical approximation'. It satisfies your temporal
> scientific leaning. It's the 'mathematical approximation' of the entirety
> that needs rhetorical conception - a concept to satisfy the need that lies
> at the root of the divisive 'chairs and hammers' religions that dwayne
> portrayed.
>
> martin

I think that the problem I get into in these discussions is that I see
the root of the "chairs and hammers" problem coming from a need for
certitude that I just don't have. I know it's a legitmate need - even
in a deep philosophical/evolutionary sense.

To put it metaphorically, I think the vast majority of people have to
"grow towards the light" of positive belief in truth. I'm just one of
those who prefers uncertainty. Uncertainty upsets most people but I
find it comforting - dark, perhaps, but a cool, gentle environment.

Nevertheless, something does have to be done for the masses of the
people. They need that "light" of truth (I resisted putting that in
quotes) and certainty as a touchstone or maybe a fulcrum for their
lives. So what to do when the mysteries of the Scriptures are not so
mysterious any more?