Subj : Everyone's Philosopher
To   : FRANK MASINGILL
From : LEE LOFASO
Date : Fri Jul 20 2001 04:35 am

Hello Frank,

>LL>How can philosophy be a private affair when one intermingles with
>  >the rest of his/her community?  "No man is an island unto himself"
>  >may seem cliche, but it is nonetheless a truth.

FM>    Unfortunately the modern world since enlightenment and the worship of
FM>scientism rather than appreciation for the gift of science, the woods are fu
FM>of ideologues and purveyors of private doxa (Plato's nemesis) who are eager
FM>lock us up in the prison of their private dreams, apocalypses, gnostic hauli
FM>of salvation and perfection into whatever order sane people have been able t
FM>establish and other prisons.

The "worship of scientism" has brought us two ideologies of the
twentienth century, namely National Socialism and Communism.  As to
which was worse, Hitler and his Nazi Party or Stalin and his Communist
Party, that is for historians to judge.  Both systems were despicable,
having led to millions of deaths.  Hitler used eugenics as the basis of
his ideology, whereas Stalin used the scientific system endorsed by Marx
as the basis of his ideology.  Both leaders forced their own people to
accept such ideology as being the foundation of all "good".

Today, democracies are using their own system of scientism, albeit
calling it by a different name.  Everything has been secularized, Europe
being very Jacobin in concept, America only less so.  In effect, we have
built our own private prisons, within our own walls of what we call
"countries" or "nations".  Each is a world unto itself, the Ptolemaic
concept being that the world revolves around a particular nation, that
nation being one's own.

FM>If our political order is strong and resistant
FM>enough we can maintain our individual freedom but if not then those who
FM>disagree end up in concentration camps or mass graves.  Ideology, it is true
FM>is dead as intellectually respectable but its political appeal can still do
FM>endless damage to human order and philosophy is the sole guardian against th

What gives people freedom is the ability to make choices.  Ideologies
restrict those choices, thereby reducing people's freedom. Since one
cannot make a good choice if there is no bad choice available, it is
not possible for one to do good.  We would therefore become victims of
a nanny state, not having the need or desire to think for ourselves.

Not that all ideologies are bad or evil.  But there are inherent dangers
that must be understood whenever one looks to ideology as the basis of
one's thought.  And it is through the use of philosophy that enables
one to understand what those dangers are, which makes philosophy the
far more valuable tool.

--Lee


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