Joao Leao wrote:
> Dear Stephen,
>
> I agree with you that the Forms "do not represent themselves to us"
> and they remain independent of our chosen
> representation --- if I understand you correctly --- that is, on how
> we make our way back to them. But the latter
> surely depends on sharpening this ability to "distinguish", as you
> say. Circunscribing the part of mathematical
> reality that exactly describes appearance requires that ability, of
> course, and its deployment is tantamount to
> what you call "Becoming" (in the positive sense). I see scientific
> and empirical inquiry as an extension of
> Platonic anamnesis, where the physical world is both the end-product
> of this corruption of Forms and also
> the (randomly accessed) memory of that corruption from which one tries
> to reconstruct the world of forms.
> I am not sure Plato would agree with this last bit, but Joni Mitchell
> would. Check this:
>
> "In search of love and music
> My whole life has been
> Illumination
> Corruption
> And diving, diving, diving, diving.
> Diving down to pick up on every shiny thing..."
>
> (from Black Crow)
>
> Best,
>
> -Joao
>
>
> Stephen Paul King wrote:
>
>> Dear Joao, Interesting! So, in your opinion, what does it mean
>> to want to Increase the ability to "distinguish"? It seems going in
>> the opposite direction of Joni Mitchell's ideal. ;-) Stephen
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From:Joao Leao
>> To: Stephen Paul King
>> Cc: mirai.domain.name.hidden ;
>> everything-list.domain.name.hidden ; time.domain.name.hidden
>> Sent: Friday, May 20, 2005 1:13 PM
>> Subject: Re: In defense of Dualism (typos corrected)
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear Stephen,
>>
>> I think I catch your point. As it happens the distinction
>> Being/Becoming (as Form/Substance) are very Aristotelian,
>> both in origin and in the way we use them. If the
>> distinction has any meaning within Platonism is probably
>> as the reverse of the usual sense, i.e., Being only
>> refers to the Forms (eternally) and Becoming to the finite
>> everchanging corrupt reality(=appearance) of which we (and
>> our souls) are part. Our access to mathematical archetypes
>> is in this sense a "map" to help us "make our way back to
>> the garden", as Joni Mitchell (that great Platonist) would
>> put it! Existence-in-itself , if you prefer. I guess that
>> may be what all
>> commited Platonists are trying to do on their own, (though
>> some think they need a lot more "maps"...).
>>
>> Let me close (before I mix my metaphores irrecuperably).
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> -Joao
>>
>>
> --
>
> Joao Pedro Leao ::: jleao.domain.name.hidden
> Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
> 1815 Massachusetts Av. , Cambridge MA 02140
> Work Phone: (617)-496-7990 extension 124
> Cell-Phone: (617)-817-1800
> ----------------------------------------------
> "All generalizations are abusive (specially this one!)"
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
>
--
Joao Pedro Leao ::: jleao.domain.name.hidden
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
1815 Massachusetts Av. , Cambridge MA 02140
Work Phone: (617)-496-7990 extension 124
Cell-Phone: (617)-817-1800
----------------------------------------------
"All generalizations are abusive (specially this one!)"
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Received on Fri May 20 2005 - 16:28:01 PDT