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

Slouching

Toward

Utopia

 Post 58. November 20, 2018 continued . . .

    The Crisis of Meaning

    What is the meaning of Meaning?

 More quotes & comments from the Thought Crimes article :

5. “Metaphysicians believe that the moral dilemmas of ethics, truth, and individual purpose can be solved by well-grounded theories that converge on general transcendent principles. . . . Ironists on the other hand . . . intellectual and moral progress is a function of “increasingly useful metaphors” rather than a greater under-standing of how things really are.”

   Irony contrasts “appearances” with “facts”; metaphorical meaning with literal meaning; what you say with what you actually intend to convey. For Ironists, the implied metaphor is the meaning, not the literal definition of words. How-it-is is not necessarily how-it-ought-to-be.

   “Metaphysicians” are idealists comparing reality to perfection. “Ironists” are realists, who accept that the abyss is too big to cross, and who ridicule the apparently sincere leap of faith6. But why can’t we have both pragmatic facts and a little romance in our all-too-brief lives?

6. “Is it possible to shapeshift between ironist and metaphysician without negating both? . . . Metamodernism . . . attempts to offer a way out of the modernist/postmodernist standoff that has defined culture in recent years.”

   Yes. But Metamodernism is a bit too Romantic for my taste7. For Scientists & Pragmatists I recommend the BothAnd alternative, in order to navigate between the sirens of idealistic metaphors and the shoals of banal facts. The first leads to entrapment in fantasy-land, and the second gets stuck in the muck of materialism.  

7. “Thus, rather than signaling a return to naive modernist ideological positions, metamodernism considers that our era is characterized by an oscillation between aspects of both modernism and postmodernism.”

   That is the position of the BothAnd philosophy8. We can be both Sincere Idealist and Pragmatic Realists. We can search for something bigger than ourselves, while dealing with the minutia of mundane reality, without the escapism of Heaven or Nirvana.

8. “ . . . searching for an antidote to despair . . . to make enduring the tragedies that are coming your way worth it.”

   Religions provide such antidotes in their idealistic myths of a better world beyond. Non-religious seekers for solace must look for it in the real world. But there’s no harm in comparing what-is to what-might-be. Meaning and motivation are grounded in the hope for and possibility of unreal aspirations.

9. “For many atheists, truth is the greatest meaning, and an end unto itself. But if they wish to free more people from religious capture they need to recognize that their simple truth is no match for the fixed stars of meaning and sheer narrative oomph that religion retails.”

   For non-theists the only reliable source of factual information (truths) is empirical Science. But the cold objective technical knowledge offered by scientific sources is not nearly as meaningful to most people as the warm subjective mythical stories provided by religious authorities.  Warm-blooded humans need a little romance and fantasy in their lives to put some meat on the bones of bare facts. It’s safe to dabble our toes in the soothing Piranha waters of possibilities, as long as we don’t linger long-enough to be fooled by their resemblance to Goldfish, and get swallowed up by falsehoods masquerading as truths. 

End of Post 58

5. Ideality & Reality :
I am both a Metaphysician – believing in ideal transcend-ent truths – and an Ironist – accepting that those imaginary ideals are beyond reach of mortals, yet acting as-if we can agree on their definitions, and that we can get closer to Truth by standing on each other’s shoulders.
   I can see the irony in our earnest search for un-attainable principles, but I’m willing to play-along in the Truth game, as long as we work together to make our ideals real.

6. The Truth Game :
The BothAnd attitude allows us to act as-if we know the Grand Truth, even as we muddle along with Prag-matic Facts. This Game of Truths is a quest for some-thing greater than me, but not something I would kill or die for. “Increasingly useful metaphors” are poor substitutes for empirical facts.
   Although I’m sincere in my search for Truth, the irony is that I know that I don’t know. (Socrates)

7. Metamodernism :
Peterson’s reaction to the ills of PostModernism seem to be more like Metamodernism instead of a complete throwback to Pre-modern Religious Dogmatism.

 “They asserted that “the postmodern culture of relativism, irony, and pastiche" is over, having been replaced by a post-ideological condition that stresses engagement, affect, and storytelling”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamodernism
 

8. The BothAnd Balance :

Modernism vs Postmodernism

Sincerity  vs   Irony/Sarcasm

Progress  vs   Tradition

Science   vs    Religion

Liberal     vs    Conservative

Idealism   vs    Pragmatism