Truth

[Ajit Sinha <ecas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Because of the change in the address, this message did not go through last
time. I hope it goes this time. ajit

>>ricardo:
>>
>>All claims to truth are "arbitrary"? In saying this you can easily
>>fall prey to the kind of criticism Devine has correctly made against
>>you.
>____________
>
>You mean incorrectly? See my response to Jim.
>_____
> Perhaps you meant that since the first principles of a
>>philosophy cannot be proven true, they are arbitrary.
>______
>
>That's true!
>_____
> But Hegel
>>abandoned this attempt to BEGIN philosophy with a set of "first"
>>principles. First principles will always lie exterior to reason.
>>Reason can only justify itself through its own experience; it has no
>>need of another principle except its own act of reasoning. To seek a
>>firm foundation apart from the act of reasoning is like trying
>>to swim without getting into the water.
>___________
>
>But do you think Hegel succeeded in his attempt. I think there are lots
>of ideas in Hegel which are simply posited. And then of course the
>logicians think that dialectics is all mumbo zumbo anyway, but I'm not
>saying that.
________

>>Ajit continues:
>>
>>Hegel is a totalizing thinker. Once you get inside of it, there is no
>>way out--there is nothing outside of it.
>>
>>ricardo:
>>
>>I think this is a valid criticism; and I think you are correct
>>that pursuing this issue in any complex way will demand a
>>detailed reading of Hegel, something which may be inappropriate
>>in this forum (pen-l).
>>
>>Ajit:
>>I also think that there will be no scope for
>>'multiculturalism' in Hegel's world-- the state of freedom is an
>>unicultural state, the universal destiny of 'mankind', to which somehow
>>orientals don't belong.
>>
>>ricado:
>>
>>To me multiculturalism is not a solution but a problem:
>_______
>
>I know, and that's my problem with your position.
>_____
> does the full
>>recognition of cultural practices associated with minorities conflict
>>with the recognition of individual rights and political liberties?
___________

This is not a question of majorities and minorities. 'Hindus' are the
majority in India. Some cultures do not have the same sense of
"individuality" and "individual rights" as the modern western cultures and
Hegel have. You don't have to go too far, take a look at the traditional
native American culture itself. Again the question is not that whether the
native Americans' sense of individuality is in conflict with the
predominant cultural norms of "individual rights and cultural liberties" in
America. Even if it did conflict, the multiculturalist must protect and
respect the predominant American cultural norms. It is a part of the
multicultural fabric. The problem arises when one culture, usually the
dominant culture, argues that it is the only "reasonable" way to live and
the other cultures must 'assimilate', i.e. accept a cultural genocide.

I do think that the question of justice for all requires to be thought
through seriously though. On what principle a sense of justice could be
built? Cheers, ajit sinha