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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
 Posted - 04/27/2010 : 06:17:04
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One of the subjects that my brother in law were discussing last weekend was the destruction of knowledge that occured when Europeans conquered the ancient South American civilizations.
My position is that all knowledge is valuable and it is a shame that we lost a great majority of what they knew. His position is that it is good that their knowledge was destroyed because it could have only been evil. I found this surprising seeing as he is decended partly from one of these great civilizations.
What do you think?
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Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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Hawks
SFN Regular
Canada
1383 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 06:23:04 [Permalink]
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| I think that people who claim to have absolute and objective morality are full of it. |
METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
It's a small, off-duty czechoslovakian traffic warden! |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 04/27/2010 : 06:42:53 [Permalink]
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All knowledge is precious beyond anything else, if for no better reason than it will help us not make the same, stupid mistakes all over again.
The Church has a lot to answer for in that regard.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 06:46:31 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by filthy
All knowledge is precious beyond anything else, if for no better reason than it will help us not make the same, stupid mistakes all over again.
The Church has a lot to answer for in that regard.
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I think the most important reason is to help us avoid making the same stupid mistakes. |
Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 07:09:46 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
I think that people who think that knowledge itself can be evil are anti-intellectuals and cowards.
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I think that may be a little harsh considering that many of these people are extremely smart in other areas. That is where my dissonance stems from. How can they be so smart about some things but they can so easily deny things that are obvious? |
Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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sailingsoul
SFN Addict
2830 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 07:22:28 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Ebone4rock
,,, discussing last weekend was the destruction of knowledge ,,,
What do you think?
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How much knowledge was lost? It's all in the evidence. Obviously, We did one hell of a job destroying all the evidence too. Their knowledge and mastery of electricity, all evidence gone. Knowledge and use of indoor plumbing, gone. Knowledge and use of steel, gone. How to fight off infectious diseases, gone. On second thought, that knowledge of fighting diseases was done in by European disease. We're off the hook for that one. Their more advanced sea travel, gone. Use of wheeled transport or their mastery of the skies, gone. All gone. There's no telling how more advanced we could be if had we not destroyed all that . SS |
There are only two types of religious people, the deceivers and the deceived. SS |
| Edited by - sailingsoul on 04/27/2010 07:24:04 |
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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 07:30:04 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by sailingsoul
Originally posted by Ebone4rock
,,, discussing last weekend was the destruction of knowledge ,,,
What do you think?
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How much knowledge was lost? It's all in the evidence. Obviously, We did one hell of a job destroying all the evidence too. Their knowledge and mastery of electricity, all evidence gone. Knowledge and use of indoor plumbing, gone. Knowledge and use of steel, gone. How to fight off infectious diseases, gone. On second thought, that knowledge of fighting diseases was done in by European disease. We're off the hook for that one. Their more advanced sea travel, gone. Use of wheeled transport or their mastery of the skies, gone. All gone. There's no telling how more advanced we could be if had we not destroyed all that . SS
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SS, I'm not sure if I'm following you. Could you please clarify? |
Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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sailingsoul
SFN Addict
2830 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 07:50:39 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Ebone4rock
That is where my dissonance stems from. How can they be so smart about some things but they can so easily deny things that are obvious?
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Why aren't you puzzled by the fact that given the crazy concepts he does believe, he is correct ever? Being correct or "so smart about some things" as you put it, has no bearing on correctness about other "things". Given his lack of critical thinking skills, I'd guard that I don't suffer any unintended consequences he's thinking may spark. Remember even a broken watch is correct twice a day. That doesn't mean it should be used for telling time. SS |
There are only two types of religious people, the deceivers and the deceived. SS |
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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 08:07:11 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by sailingsoul
Originally posted by Ebone4rock
That is where my dissonance stems from. How can they be so smart about some things but they can so easily deny things that are obvious?
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Why aren't you puzzled by the fact that given the crazy concepts he does believe, he is correct ever? Being correct or "so smart about some things" as you put it, has no bearing on correctness about other "things". Given his lack of critical thinking skills, I'd guard that I don't suffer any unintended consequences he's thinking may spark. Remember even a broken watch is correct twice a day. That doesn't mean it should be used for telling time. SS
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Why? Because even though I think that I use my critical thinking skills to the best of my ability there are still times when I am wrong. I do not think that he is right about religious things but there are many other things that he will be the first guy that I will go to for help with. I cannot discount his other areas of expertise because he has some crazy ideas about religion.
I'm still not totally sure if I am following your train of thought. |
Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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sailingsoul
SFN Addict
2830 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 08:15:36 [Permalink]
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| SS, I'm not sure if I'm following you. Could you please clarify? |
I was trying to point out the valuable knowledge that they didn't have. Just what knowledge or technology did they have that was destroyed that he/you are talking about????? Are you talking about flying cars, like they had in Atlantis? There was found a tiny charm which the book "Chariots of fire" claimed to proved the had planes. Where are any remains of the real flying crafts??
What is the evidence they knew MORE than how to shape granite better that anyone else or rip the hearts out of hundreds of people's chest in one day, without having a heart attack. SS |
There are only two types of religious people, the deceivers and the deceived. SS |
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sailingsoul
SFN Addict
2830 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 08:24:30 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Ebone4rock
Why? Because even though I think that I use my critical thinking skills to the best of my ability there are still times when I am wrong. I do not think that he is right about religious things but there are many other things that he will be the first guy that I will go to for help with. I cannot discount his other areas of expertise because he has some crazy ideas about religion.
I'm still not totally sure if I am following your train of thought.
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Ok true, valid point. I too am not without delusions. I take back saying "I'd guard that I don't suffer any unintended consequences he's thinking may spark." to you but still I can think it |
There are only two types of religious people, the deceivers and the deceived. SS |
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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 08:53:32 [Permalink]
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| I was trying to point out the valuable knowledge that they didn't have. Just what knowledge or technology did they have that was destroyed that he/you are talking about????? |
Gotcha. You and I are defining "knowledge" differently. I am talking more about historical knowledge and you seem to be thinking more about technological knowledge. |
Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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astropin
SFN Regular
USA
970 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 09:30:14 [Permalink]
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There is NO acquired knowledge that should ever be destroyed. There should be however limits on "how" knowledge is acquired.
This hearkens back to the Holocaust. There were/are many who claim/ed that any knowledge acquired through the torture of humans (or animals) should be destroyed. That's crazy to me. Once knowledge is acquired it should never be tossed aside.
You are not supporting torture by simply keeping/using the acquired knowledge. Of course no knowledge should ever be acquired in that way.......but what's done is done. |
I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.
You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.
Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.
Infinitus est numerus stultorum |
| Edited by - astropin on 04/27/2010 09:31:09 |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26022 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 09:55:00 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Ebone4rock
I think that may be a little harsh considering that many of these people are extremely smart in other areas. That is where my dissonance stems from. How can they be so smart about some things but they can so easily deny things that are obvious? |
Being smart doesn't imply that a person is in favor of smartness, knowledge, science or skepticism. There are some extremely smart people who think that human intelligence is dangerous in that it leads to atomic weapons and other such marvels of self-destructive tool-making.
But the answer to such fears isn't to encourage dumbitude or to celebrate the destruction of knowledge. The answer is to have open, honest and public discussions about what we know, how we know it and how to best make use of our knowledge. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Ebone4rock
SFN Regular
USA
894 Posts |
Posted - 04/27/2010 : 10:17:17 [Permalink]
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| But the answer to such fears isn't to encourage dumbitude or to celebrate the destruction of knowledge. The answer is to have open, honest and public discussions about what we know, how we know it and how to best make use of our knowledge. |
Agreed. Now the big question is: How do we get those with closed minds to accept this?
The way I see it is that by having destroyed the written history of the ancient South Americans we no longer have the ability to learn more about their social structure, religious practices, and many other things. We are now at risk of repeating some of their mistakes. |
Haole with heart, thats all I'll ever be. I'm not a part of the North Shore society. Stuck on the shoulder, that's where you'll find me. Digging for scraps with the kooks in line. -Offspring |
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Are we better off for losing certain knowledge?
