A Pox On Ante-Meridian Edumacation

[gnommi]

This morning I am reading about how the ideas of Derrida, Saussurean and post-Saussurean epistemological relativism and semiotics might impact upon taxonomy, specifically within the context of paleontology.

Considering that this is a consequence of a throwaway line in a book that I am reading for leisure and that before this morning I had no idea who Saussure or Derrida might be, I feel somewhat chagrined. Where are all the pretty pictures of trilobites? Of course, now I've started reading on the subject, who knows where it will end?

Next time I'll read That's Life!. Or maybe not. There was a stack of this and similar pulp fiction in my psychiatrist's waiting room yesterday, containing such gems as SCHIZOPHRENIC MONSTER SHREDDED MY SISTER and MANIAC KEEPER FATTENED ME UP FOR SICK SEX. Perhaps not the most apposite reading material, all things considered.

Comments

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I got introduced to Sassure and Lacan at university, and I'm still reading about them now.

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

Conway-Morris seems to think that the popularity of Derrida's deconstructivism means that Science loses touch with philosophy and that this is a Bad Thing.

It's such a tangential reference though that it's quite hard to work out exactly what he means, or whether it's an important enough point to justify having to spend days boning up on modern philosophy

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Would it be a fair assumption that yo've read Daniel Dennett? Metamagic thema's is a great place to start, and anyone who can suggest that philosophy and science aren't interrelated at a deep level after reading that is bonkers.

Did you know that Fred Hoyle inferred the energy levels of the carbon atom from the Weak Anthropic principle? These things go hand in hand.

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

yeah I have read Dennett (though not in anger) and seen him speak live at the RSA and other places a few times. he makes a lot of good points but I can't say I always agree 100%. (ooh, get me!)

like you say, its a no-brainer that science and philosophy are indivisible, but I have a feeling that Conway-Morris is just having a gripe with big words so that he can justify slagging off Dawkins for being shallow, short-sighted and unduly obsessed with mechanistic minutiae

not that i disagree with him ;)

anyway it can't hurt to read up on all this stuff right? *remembers having a minor breakdown whilst trying to read Wittgenstein's Blue and Brown Books*

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I don't agree with everything Dennett says - when I understand him, which in the case of 'Godel, Escher, Bach' was up until about chapter 3.
I just like people who are much cleverer than me. If Dennett was a girl, I'd fancy him something rotten :)

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

you too, huh? one day, ONE DAY...
I WILL FINISH THAT BOOK!

frikkin mock turtle and his "don't go any further until you understand this"
pffft

but wasn't that Douglas Hofstadter?

erm dunno if i spelled that right

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

You're right, it was Hofstadter - I get confused because he & Dennett collaborated on 'The Mind's I'.

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

Dennett has a beard too, so you can't even pretend convincingly

[squidflakes.livejournal.com]

Wait, what about sex with your sister?

That's what I get for skimming entries.

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

it was a long time ago, and anyway you can't prove it

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

You have a sister? Dong-dong!

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

yeah, and i regret to report that she's hotter than me >_>

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

i regret to report that she's hotter than me

That statement defies all known physical laws!