The Word and True Names

[vap0rtranz]

"The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words, and that if you know the words that the world is made of you can make of it whatever you wish."  Terence McKenna

Now ... in my defense I'm skeptical of someone who uses hallucinogens, but this McKenna has caught my attention a few times.  I think most math-minded, right-brained people

Comments

[ragnarok20]

I like Terrence McKenna's Novelty Theory

[vap0rtranz]

Interesting, I was half thinking about some of your remarks about the government when I wrote, like a pubescent attack against the system without realizing that you are part of the system, hence your attack is merely the machine at work. ;)

So in that theory, there are ups and downs for ingenuity?

[ragnarok20]

It's only the machine at work in a very general sense. I mean, is it merely the machine at work when my car begins to break down? If their goal is to breed discontent in the people and make them attack the system, then in a less general sense you are right.

It almost sounds like the claim my professor John likes to make. In order to say that philosophy is not worth doing, you have to do philosophy.

So in that theory, there are ups and downs for ingenuity?

Yes, and it's going to end in 2012. It follows the I-Ching and the Aztect (? Maybe Mayan) prophecy that the world will end in 2012.

[vap0rtranz]

and it's going to end in 2012.

eee gadz. Haven't we gotten the cyclic nature of Nature yet? Nothing ever ends or begins, which is to say something that is very difficult to convey with words that "begin" and "end". I thought that was a fundamental realization ... realized after reflecting on the structure of languages, such as some of their tenses, and our transcendental flings with time in some mathematics, etc.

le sigh

[tosk]

The Map of the Territory ;-)

In some sense, McKenna is right, everything we humans interact with are cataloged in our minds via neurolinguistics. Words are the semantic representation of things (they're the symbols on our map of reality). Having control over those symbols (knowing the words that the world is made of), might be said to give you much greater freedom in manipulation of reality (or at least the manipulation of the map). Most people don't seem to grasp the concept that "the word is not the thing it represents", sure on some conscious level they would agree... after all they aren't going to try to eat the word "fillet mignon". However, in our everyday life, we often categorize/label/define unique things with generic words, or we use words and forget that they're simply identifiers.

Being able to grasp how much semantics form our perceptions does seem to provide a much greater level of neuroplasticity for the individual... in some sense ;-)

[vap0rtranz]

the word is not the thing it represents

Mmm, perhaps I don't understand you. You're saying "dog" is not a dog just like a mugshot is not the person? My only problem with this view of the world is that it can still end up Platonic, aka. there really is a dog out there despite whatever you call it. The problem isn't existence, rather, this view still leads to fundamental justifications for categorization. Example: racism is justified. Reason: there is a real difference between the color of skin. By "real", I mean something ... well, something that I cannot fully describe because I do not believe there are real differences but only different pointers to the same essence. As a counterexample, take light. I do indeed see different colors of skin on these people, and the differences, I believe, stem from the wavelength of light emitted and -- most important -- my eyes reception of it. But the essence is just light. Some would say that color is a manifestation of light and therefore a logical and empirical connection, but it seems

[tosk]

I think you misunderstand my point. I'm not talking about Platonic forms here... I'm talking about each individuals neurolinguistic association between the "map" (their perception of reality and its associated symbols ie. words), and "the territory" (the real world out there somewhere). This runs along the lines of General Semantics

[moosehead_beer]

Question: Are you still in college for physics? Did you graduate?