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Article 2773 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: petersow@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com (Wayne Peterson)
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Is your ontology backwards?
Message-ID: <1992Jan16.140735.21177@saifr00.cfsat.honeywell.com>
Date: 16 Jan 92 14:07:35 GMT
Article-I.D.: saifr00.1992Jan16.140735.21177
References: <kn91r9INNcig@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>
Organization: Honeywell Air Transport Systems Division
Lines: 24

Eric silber writes
>Is your ontology backwards? 

>My small-minded recollection of the one Plato dialog which I was
>compelled to read in my youth is of the ,,Meno'' .  My recollection of
>it ( certainly distorted by time ) is of the philosopher abusing 
>a boy with the following interchange:  "Well boy, what's the
>square-root of two?" "I dunno." "Tell me, what is the square-root of two!!"
>" Three, master?" "No! "  A hundred and ten, master?" "No!" .... ...
>" One point four one four dot dot dot, master?" " AHAH! You had it in you
>all the time ! "

>Borscht! Plato's ontology is backwards!  Since, to the best of our knowledge,
>the universe is a sequence of events in space-time involving the interaction of
>waves/particles with discrete characterisitics deriving from the initial >conditions
>of the universe, matter-space-time (viz. the material world) takes ontological 
>precedence over "ideas" , "abstractions", and "ideal forms".  To argue >otherwise,
>is to place one's ontological focus at a point before the origin of our >universe.
>(That would be a religious stance, not a scientific stance).

No offense, but what do you know about the origin of the universe?
Tell me, what is the origin of consciousness?
Dont you know about the world because of your consciousness?
Maybe your ontology is backwards.


