nealelehman

Hi John Dailey Doesn't the skilled Crime Negotiator talk to the person holding the pointed gun and often avoid a violent bloodbath? Maybe we could all learn from his methods and his example? What do you think? Neale Lehman ~ Pointlessly suicidally-accelerating for non-Muslims... --- Like, who talks against a pointed gun/knife/explosive, other than for the purpose of stalling while attempting to outmaneuver? Only suicidal idiots...or cowards using others as shields.

Hi Galt et al You state that " All humans have a volitional conceptual consciousness. Even devoutly religious people. All should be open to Reason {reality based rationality implied ?} ---despite upbringing" My reading of "Epistemology" is that we all have the Faculty, the potential to develop true concepts, if and only if our concepts are based on perceptions of Reality, with correct differentiation, integration, unit formation and then proceeding to higher level concepts and their processing using valid rules of Logic. Having this potential does not mean that any individual practices Rand's deductive system flawlessly. She identifies many ways/fallacies by which men come to false concepts and hence can reason falsely. Shew also identifies how men can reach false conclusions from true starting premises by errors of Logic. My lifelong dream has been to bring all the religious/atheist/agnostic/humanist leaders/gurus of the world together in one grand closed room to engage and debate until agreement on all issues and questions are resolved. No agreements to disagree. No cop outs. All discussion recorded and subject to rational inquiry. I believe this could not happen until the participants first thrashed out agreement on Epistemological ground rules. I tbeleive such leaders should be invited to engage in this {mandatory?} beginning step. What do you think? Could Objective Living initiate such a request? Could a formal Proposal be drafted for coordination with proper Agencies? Could a call for volunteers for a team to do so be issued? It would be an honor if I could help. My best wishes to all Neale Lehman

About this thread It seems to me that much consternation has arisen because some are referring to the real process of dying and the disintegration of the body/brain that follows while others are referring to their personal concepts associated with Death. For those raised in a religious environment there are the stored memories of the hope for again seeing lost loved ones and the end of pain and suffering. For some there is fear of judgement and punishment. For some it may be THE adventure. Terror, bliss, or nothingness. Who really knows what irrational hopes,fears or guiults may remain in our unconscious which influence our feelings and thoughts about the great unknown? There is a perspective from which all your comments make sense. Studying this thread is an education for me about how we all come to misunderstand and then come to conflict with one another. Neale Lehman

Hi William Thank you immensely for your response. I am new to this type of discussion opportunity. I have longed for others with whom I could rationally discuss and explore concepts I value and beleive important. Please help me get involved. I have digested, I think, most of Rand's works. And most of the Philosophers. Career aerospace engineer/manager. I try to understand each philosopher from a dialectic/psychological /psychoanalytical/evolutionary perspective. Would enjoy continuing the discussion and learning the specifics of posting,searching,etc. Thank you again. Neale Yes, and put this search in the searchbox before you do post your bit to the list (this is a topic that has recieved attention, and can be dug out of previous threads with the right tools): emotion shmurak marsha -- my very first post to an O-list was on emotion. If you like I can show you some of the posts that might answer your questions. Nobody (or the guy next to him) reads these blogs compared to the list itself. William

Hi World Does anyone who has studied Ayn Rand's Epistemology asserting that emotions are the product of prior Ideas foun any scientific,empirical or psychological evidence or foundation for the assertion? It's an amazing notion that all of our emotions could be true, beneficial and without conflict or doubt if only we permit true ideas and concepts in our memory and minds. Do you agree that her System is totally deductive, starting only with self-evident perceptions and building hierarchically to a total valid world veiw and true subjective veiw in total harmony with that world veiw? If you have reflected on such notions, I would love to hear from you. Neale

-Addition by Neale- Provided that relevant condition are the same in both past and future occurrences.

Hi Michael About your idea of "principles that govern life". I suspect that this is a wrong notion going back to ancient Metaphysics: that the Universe and everything in it, including the so-called Laws of Science, are ruled,governed by Laws or Principles which are somehow separate, prior or superior to natural processes. A simpler perspective is that all such Laws and Principles are the concepts formed by the minds of men as they grasp the processes and formulate explicit Definitions or Descriptions. This perspective seems to be in accordance with Rand's Epistemology with all of man's concepts based on direct perceptions of reality processes. All we need to do is change the name of the highest-level scientific concept from Law to Description. What do you think? Neale