tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post6766514839364827531..comments2023-12-21T06:35:36.624-05:00Comments on Recursivity: Summary of Pascal Lecture by Charles Rice (Part 1)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-3123129220074666332012-04-12T01:48:58.203-04:002012-04-12T01:48:58.203-04:00Whenever anyone asks a "Why" question, t...Whenever anyone asks a "Why" question, they are asking to be told a story, to be given a narrative. Of course, the narratives that people prefer to hear are narratives *about people*. But the deeper problem is that the universe is not actually built out of narrativitum, and the real answers to science questions cannot - by their very nature - satisfy people who want a story. The universe is made up of causes and effects, not intents and actions. Science is left flailing in miscomprehension of how to go about answering the questions these people pose, because the only real answer is "grow up, the would is not a fairytale".Paul Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11278400600014926435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-26841838930079185872012-03-22T07:04:21.806-04:002012-03-22T07:04:21.806-04:00Tourlia:
Nope, you're wrong. Read his writin...Tourlia:<br /><br />Nope, you're wrong. Read his writings! For Rice, the other spiritual beings are (wait for it) ... Angels! Yes, Rice thinks angels really exist.Jeffrey Shallithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12763971505497961430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-37919718370424333922012-03-22T01:17:51.477-04:002012-03-22T01:17:51.477-04:00"Only spiritual beings, such as humans, can a..."Only spiritual beings, <b>such as</b> humans, can abstract and reflect." [This seems just like a groundless assertion to me. ... It is not clear at all that the ability to abstract and reflect is restricted to humans; indeed there is evidence that baboons and apes can do so.]"<br /><br />I noticed he said "such as" instead of "i.e.". So maybe he wasn't restricting "spiritual beings" to humans, like you're suggesting he did. Maybe he's allowing a modicum of spirituality to the other primates.Tourlianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-7619522168020267562012-03-21T17:09:17.227-04:002012-03-21T17:09:17.227-04:00Apparently Rice has not figured out that morality ...Apparently Rice has not figured out that morality is not able to do what science can sometimes do -- efficaciously remove an opposing position. Pascal performed an experiment in the 17th century demonstrating that air has wt. Since the experiment, who could reasonably disagree? But morality is a different matter...Would Rice concur?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-36067327083112407232012-03-21T16:11:14.770-04:002012-03-21T16:11:14.770-04:00Rice has an interesting notion of traditional Roma...Rice has an interesting notion of traditional Roman Catholic behavior, which insists that if one commits a sin (e.g. tells a lie), then one must do two things. The first is to attend confession to confess. The second is to atone for the sin. <br /><br />Jeff, you did a nice job in Part 1 of starting off his talk with a lie, when you reported that Rice;<br /><br />"then said he was "frankly surprised to the objection to my participation in these lectures. I'm just a guy from Mishiwaka, Indiana. Why should I get singled out?" [I found this disingenuous. He's not just "a guy", he's a law professor at a major university who has inserted himself into public controversies before, such as when he protested Obama's selection as commencement speaker at Notre Dame. So it's a little ironic that he claims not to understand why someone would protest his own selection as a speaker. I think he knows quite well.]<br /><br />Were I in the audience, Rice would have lost me with the first lie. But then he had the nerve to natter on about CONSCIENCE? As a Roman Catholic, I am very certain that neither the Pope nor his RC teachers would condone him going on to monologue his expertise on conscience. C'MON RICE -- get real! <br /><br />"He said, "We're going to talk about conscience. What is it?" Thomas Aquinas said it is "how we judge the rightness of wrongness of a particular action."<br /><br />FYI Prof Rice, you ask how? you make amends for your sins. In case you don't understand what I am saying, please re-read the sage words of Jeff Shallit.<br /><br />Jeff you are an inspiration and a gentleman. I applaud you, your integrity, your intellect, and your willingness to go 'where angels fear to tread.' IF only ALL scholars were to follow your lead. Thank you +++Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-36240025396217214512012-03-21T11:08:03.698-04:002012-03-21T11:08:03.698-04:00"He quoted Pope Benedict as saying that "..."<i>He quoted Pope Benedict as saying that "modern culture restricts reason to the empirical", but that this was unwise, since if reason can only reach the empirical, it can't reach objective moral truth or God.</i>"<br /><br />That could only be unwise if one assumes the conclusion that objective moral truth or God exists.<br /><br /><br />"<i>He said, "We're going to talk about conscience. What is it?" Thomas Aquinas said it is "how we judge the rightness of wrongness of a particular action." Is there an objective standard, or is it simply your decision?</i>"<br /><br />False dichotomy.Bayesian Bouffant, FCDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-85218753367195666702012-03-21T10:22:33.755-04:002012-03-21T10:22:33.755-04:00Yes, I thought of that. But would the president o...Yes, I thought of that. But would the president of a Catholic university really not know the difference between "Pascal" and "Paschal"? Baa!Jeffrey Shallithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12763971505497961430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-31820290824883534002012-03-21T10:04:35.457-04:002012-03-21T10:04:35.457-04:00'Paschal' is a catholic adjective for '...'Paschal' is a catholic adjective for 'pertaining to easter' and is pronounced the way you described.<br /><br />I suspect the mispronunciation stems from this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-601043044812912772012-03-21T08:28:12.878-04:002012-03-21T08:28:12.878-04:00A terrific write-up! Hope to meet you at the seco...A terrific write-up! Hope to meet you at the second event at St. Jerome's University (Siegfried Hall) Thursday night at 6:00!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-12341598714880199142012-03-21T03:58:40.885-04:002012-03-21T03:58:40.885-04:00According to wikipedia though, the "s" i...According to wikipedia though, the "s" is silent in the singular. Surely it's one "Marine Corps"??Garkbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12234102759650383703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-12278276012368915152012-03-21T01:11:47.975-04:002012-03-21T01:11:47.975-04:00Well, at least it's better than "corpse,&...Well, at least it's better than "corpse," like Obama pronounced it.Nucularnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-7200837977685538822012-03-21T00:50:53.495-04:002012-03-21T00:50:53.495-04:00Thank you for taking the time to attend, provide p...Thank you for taking the time to attend, provide pix, and for using your gift of the gab to eloquently set the stage for the evening. My Irish eyes are smiling and I look forward to part 2 tomorrow Jeff. Most impressed!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20067416.post-30818926017975222132012-03-20T23:24:25.542-04:002012-03-20T23:24:25.542-04:00"Perrin pronounced "Pascal" as if i..."Perrin pronounced "Pascal" as if it rhymed with the computer language Haskell, and pronounced "Marine Corps" as "Marine Cores", both of which I found odd."<br /><br />I think Cores is a correct pronunciation. <br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corps<br /><br />OED has cores as well.tarobinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17961343066152121105noreply@blogger.com