Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

Post 8. December 16, 2017

   True Reality : Both Real & Ideal

   
   Sense & Sensibility

In order to make sense of a confusing modern world-in-flux, where clear & reliable information is often camouflaged by the scrubby underbrush of Fake News and Trump Truth, we must begin by assuming the existence of Absolute Truth, at least in principle, as a stable standard. Cynical Postmodernism denies the possibility of such objectivity, since all real-world information is presumed to be selfishly motivated and politically constructed. Nevertheless, even though we don’t have direct access to ultimate unmediated reality, prudent people can use reason & imagination to discern the difference between self-serving personal beliefs, or politically & religiously motivated fantasies, and impersonal facts untouched by human minds. Such ideal Truth can only be validated by the authority of a sublime mind though. So, in theory, we need to assume the existence of an impartial outside observer, who remains above the fray of emotion & politics. For the purposes of the Enformationism worldview and the BothAnd principle, that highest court of Truth is also the First Cause and Creator of everything in the knowable world. For a shorthand name, we will refer to the Truther-in-chief herein as G*D, in the technical sense of omniscience, and no religious implications. But, in what sense could that hypothetical know-it-all be real?

A-theism versus A-vampirism

God-fearing folk, are highly motivated to know what their judgmental over-lord expects of them. Their sense of dread may inspire morality in those inclined to "break" bad, but why should ordinary un-evil people act as-if an imaginary Big-Brother1 is watching them, 24 - 7? Most of us don't walk around trembling in fear of vamp attacks, even though we have been frequently exposed to scary folk tales of the undead, and gory movies based on those old fangy fables. That's because, as weaned adults, we understand the practical difference between fact & fantasy, myth & mundanity. So, it's perfectly reasonable to enjoy the occasional spooky thrill, while remaining completely a-vampist --- with no fear of the undead. Likewise, though we are familiar with romantic stories of olympian gods, or fearsome fables of dangerous demons, it is completely sensible to remain a-theist, even as we acknowledge the historical and literary value of those pre-scientific folk beliefs.

On the other hand, all humans are constantly exposed to reminders that the world we experience is both Real and Ideal. Yet, we instinctively know the difference between the material things out there, and our immaterial thoughts in here. We can distinguish between physical sensations, and our feelings about those perceptions. We easily discern the difference between public phenomena, and the private meanings or values of those sensory experiences. For empirical scientific purposes, those ideal aspects of the world can be safely ignored. But for theoretical personal reasons we have no other choice but to deal with the unreal.

Post 8 continued . . . click Next

Is it real?
Or is it Memorex?
1980s ad for
high fidelity
recording tape

Note : I couldn’t track down the Quora post that first used the Atheism versus Vampirism metaphor.

1. Big Brother :
Reference to the 1949 book by George Orwell, 1984,– not the 1990s TV show – in which the symbolic figurehead of a totalitarian state keeps the population under control by means of constant surveillance. The people are constantly reminded of this by the slogan "Big Brother is watching you"