The irony in some of this discussion is that one of the upshots of Derrida's critique is that things cannot be reduced to context, and no fine-graining of 'context' would ever serve to explain or justify any phenomenon. This sets him irreducibly apart from any empirical discourse like anthropology, history, law, and so on. And this, insofar as he is committed to resisting the reduction to a skeptical empiricism that would not be able to hold fast to truth in the philosophical sense - or any notion of responsibility, for that matter. Différance disrupts all closure, including "context". — Streetlight
Relativism, as I understand the term, is a boogeyman of either a cultural or philosophical variety. Almost anything counts as relativism, broadly construed, because knowledge deals in relations. What people mean by "relativism" isn't very specific -- it's usually coupled with some anxiety with respect to objective truth, or scientific truth, or some such — Moliere
But in terms a philosophy, my assertion is there is no such thing. It's more of a boogeyman, politically, or a philosophical antagonist, philosophically -- but a cultural phenomena, rather than a particular philosophy. So I'd say that one could take any of his works and you wouldn't find the cultural or philosophical antagonist that people seem to have in mind.
Or would you disagree there? — Moliere
I'd say there are a few beliefs that will not remain after gaining clarity, such as Derrida is a relativist, or Lyotard created a post-modern philosophy. Neither of those two things are true, at least as I understand these words. — Moliere
↪Joshs Philologists, anthropologists, jurists, historians and poets have demonstrated the contextuality of meanings long before Derrida obscurely belabored the point with florid jargon — 180 Proof
I'm saying that 'your own conscience' is not a good foundation as there is nothing one can't justify using such an approach. People justify slavery, sexual assault, murder, theft, anything horrendous, based on their own conscience (or lack of one). I also don't yet see how his answer relates to the OP. But I understand the broader point that perhaps all we have is personal preferences (conscience if you prefer). I do think however that even secular morality can rest on foundational imperatives, however contestable these might be. — Tom Storm
I think that an essential element that is normally ignored in discussions about postmodernism is history — Angelo Cannata
As far as I can tell, p0m0 suggests "we should live" by transgressing – subverting – every "should" which, of course, is self-refuting (i.e. we could not live that way). — 180 Proof
Deconstructing Derrida's "text", whatever it means is deferred, no? (i.e. meaning-less, or as Humpty Dumpty says "means whatever I say it means – nothing more or nothing less") — 180 Proof
And if we are to judge from their characters, Deleuze really was not a very good man. — Moliere
I think, maybe, people mistake description for prescription -- postmodernism is a condition, not a philosophy — Moliere
Keeping in mind that Aristotle called it "metaphysics" because it came after physics in his publications, not because it was beyond physics in subject matter or an addition to physics. I tend to see it as the framework for knowledge and understanding, which I guess is what you mean by "beyond" in this context. — Clarky
So please don't take things too pedantically.. Like "Oooh what does "self-reflection" really mean?" — schopenhauer1
Do you really think he meant literally that the whole of human self-reflection is one mutation, or is being metaphorical to what the outcome is like? At least be charitable. — schopenhauer1
The tragedy of a species becoming unfit for life by over-evolving one ability is not confined to humankind. — schopenhauer1
. In depressive states, the mind may be seen in the image of such an antler, in all its fantastic splendour pinning its bearer to the ground. — schopenhauer1
It all comes down to the fact that first principles are always of survival, and in humans that is economics (not the abstract study of, but the production and consumption aspect of everyday life). — schopenhauer1
Depends what one means by nature. For science, it is only the movement of particles. — Jackson
It's not clear to me what "two inseparable poles" means in this context. Metaphysics is the context of seeing, knowing, experiencing; not what is seen, known, or experienced. — Clarky
Humans are apes that do physics, metaphysics, abstract art, jazz, epic poetry, space exploration, mystical ecstasy...
No matter how morally indignant the philosimians get, facts are facts, there is no equivalency.
Humankind is superapekind. — ZzzoneiroCosm
Can you explain that? Isn't the very act of a starting point (even if self-reflexivity) a foundation? I've not read the writers you mention - except in small portions and I find them mostly incomprehensible, so generally I'm just looking for a high level overview if possible. :wink: — Tom Storm
You say "value system," I say "metaphysical system." Facts don't necessarily change metaphysics, but metaphysics may have to change in order for us to see reality in new ways. I'm not sure how that works. It's at the top of my list of things to figure out. — Clarky
The claim that "factual correctness in science asymptotically approximates ( through Popperian falsification) an ultimately true reality," is not a scientific fact, it is a metaphysical assertion. — Clarky
Metaphysics is how we look at things, not what we see. — Clarky
even those committed to perspectivism and the notion of there being no correct viewpoint - no totalizing metanarrative - seem to elevate this evaluative framework as somehow true, in itself a kind of totalizing metanarrative. — Tom Storm
the question at hand is whether or not most people think "...there is one way of seeing reality rather than the plurality of possibilities." In my experience, most people think their metaphysic is factually correct, if they think about it at all. — Clarky
Funny how metaphysics never stays dead and buried — Jackson
f the known represents our best understanding of what is going on, metaphysics represents our attempts to go beyond the limits of that knowledge in ways that analyticity doesn't compass. Expanding our understanding of the physical universe isn't metaphysical, because the new understanding doesn't change the fundamental nature of that understanding (except that quantum theory - e.g. the Cophenhagen interpretation - could be said to be metaphysical in that sense). — Pantagruel
Agreed. Philosophy is about expanding the limits of our understanding. Almost by definition, this coincides with metaphysics. The most interesting questions have always been metaphysical. — Pantagruel
Hume's and Kant's attacks on metaphysics have probably been the most important in the history of philosophy. To embrace these philosophers is not to embrace metaphysics (or, when it comes to Hume, "system building"). — Jamal
Tell me how to get rid of epistemology. You say "Z." I say "How do you know Z." Or I say "Prove Z." Those are epistemological statements. If you say "Here's how I know Z," you are speaking epistemology. You can't get away from it. — Clarky
The strong for Nietzsche overcomes itself , displaces itself , transforms itself. Its strength is in reinvention, not holding onto some self-constant value system
— Joshs
Into what, exactly? With the abolition of the celestial hierarchy there's nothing to be transformed into, except maybe a more intelligent (or should we say 'craftier') ape. — Wayfarer
it is impossible to get rid of metaphysics. You might pretend that you have, even believe it yourself, but it can't be done. Metaphysics, especially including epistemology, is the foundation of reason. — Clarky
we could be deceived that our conscious experience is more than just electrical signals bouncing around in our heads: "Whatever this sensation of consciousness is that I'm experiencing, it is something more!" — Bird-Up
What kind of 'empowerment' could he envisage, other than political power, the domination of the strong over the weak? The religious cultures that he abjurs depict fulfillment in terms of divine union or transcending the self, but there's nothing that can be mapped against that in Nietszche's philosophy as there's nothing beyond the ego. Is there? — Wayfarer
I take Neitzche's superman to be a rationally advanced person who rejects the slave morality of Christianity and derives his morality from this world — Hanover
Apes are no longer merely objects for amusement, except amongst the ill-informed or childish. — Banno
It does not signify power over others, but power over the self, in order to reach one's fullest potential. I think it would be less misleadingly termed "the will to empowerment". — Janus
It's a question of evolution: from ape to man to Superman. — ZzzoneiroCosm
So if the informal paradoxes motivate us to view them as needing to be allowed formally, then we do wish to allow contradictions in theories but not have them explosive, and then we adopt a paraconsistent logic instead of classical logic. But that is not the ruination of classical logic. — TonesInDeepFreeze
Lyotard said that. Not sure who belongs to the postmodern school. — Jackson
