Sun comes through window leaves
Asians are dancing
Treefingers in Nimes
Coke and stars
Afghan child
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Draft Rant
It never fails to amaze me how in this day and age the majority of people, including the non-religious, seem to believe that moral properties exist as objective, natural properties in the universe. That is, that there are objectively good and bad actions/outcomes/features of the universe. A related fact is that the majority of people seem to believe that there is some purpose to the universe, that things happen "for a reason", or whatever sort of spiritual nonsense you might arbitrarily choose to believe with no reference to logical or empirical constraints.
While the prevalence of such beliefs among those with little political or academic clout normally doesn't bother me that much, it does bother me when these beliefs are held either by those with power/influence or by those with which I usually agree and feel like they are harming a common cause by their flawed views.
It is the latter that I want to address here. First, some background.
II
There is a tendency of science writers and communicators to emphasize the positive aspects of a scientific worldview while ignoring the negative aspect. In numerous texts I have read popular science writers, for example, Richard Dawkins, defend the notion that a scientific worldview leads to a richer view of life and in no way is "depressing" or "nihilistic". While it may be that such writers feel the need to emphasise the positive in order to counteract criticism and curry favor for their position, I suspect that they genuinely believe it. I think this is largely a foolish position to take. Science has led us to discover many positive and negative aspects of human nature and the universe. For instance, humans often behave altruistically, but this altruism is often conditional on reciprication, biased towards kin, used to maintain a social standing or other ignoble ends. Humans have a long and bloody history of violence that appears to be trending significantly downwards in the long term, from timespans of the millenia to the decade. Humans have a tendency towards prejudice and aggression towards outgroups and never cease to disappoint in their ceaseless conformity on a societal to friend-group level. Human sexual attraction is not as distance from the raping and plundering of the animal and early human kingdoms as we would choose to believe. While many believe that modern sexuality is influenced by modern pornography, I believe that the influence of innate sexual drives on pornography is larger than the reciprocal effect of pornography on sexuality. So if you want to know what the majority of people (Albeit, largely males) want in sex, just click the "Top Rated' videos on any porn site.
There is more to the demoralising effect of science than simply social psychology. Science reduces (correctly) human experience to electrical, neurobiological circuits. It presumes determinism (correctly), which in itself is fucking depressing. I have yet to come across any argument that satisfactorily defends the idea that determinism and free-will are compatible. This mechanistic, physicalist view of the mind involves no possibility of eternal life, no ultimate purpose. As I remarked in an earlier chapter, a scientific worldview necessarily leads to nihilism about moral properties despite the fallacious cries that somehow science can inform us that a broadly utilitarian position is the "correct" moral position.
There are numerous positive aspects of the scientific worldview. It frees us from dogma, except (as detractors may not) the dogma of the scientific method itself. However, I suspect that if you truly believe that the building and testing of fallible theories that are constantly being revised and improved constitutes a dogma, I don't believe that there is more common ground on us to work with. There are many interesting (at least to me, I don't want to claim that they are innately interesting, nothing is innately interesting) facts about the world we have discovered and only a fool would reject the proposition that living conditions have been improved by the Enlightenment. Nevertheless, the fact that there are positive aspects of a scientific worldview for individuals and society does not dismiss that there are the aforementioned detriments of a scientific worldview both on a philosophical level (through the necessary conclusion of nihilism) and an empirical level (through revealing the negative qualities of human nature, not to mention the reduction of art and beauty to evolution by natural selection).
I do think that science is important for human progress and I try to accept the facts of the universe as they appear to be, but this doesn't mean that life in this universe is not a fucking miserable meaningless piece of shit, even for the most privileged.
While the prevalence of such beliefs among those with little political or academic clout normally doesn't bother me that much, it does bother me when these beliefs are held either by those with power/influence or by those with which I usually agree and feel like they are harming a common cause by their flawed views.
It is the latter that I want to address here. First, some background.
II
There is a tendency of science writers and communicators to emphasize the positive aspects of a scientific worldview while ignoring the negative aspect. In numerous texts I have read popular science writers, for example, Richard Dawkins, defend the notion that a scientific worldview leads to a richer view of life and in no way is "depressing" or "nihilistic". While it may be that such writers feel the need to emphasise the positive in order to counteract criticism and curry favor for their position, I suspect that they genuinely believe it. I think this is largely a foolish position to take. Science has led us to discover many positive and negative aspects of human nature and the universe. For instance, humans often behave altruistically, but this altruism is often conditional on reciprication, biased towards kin, used to maintain a social standing or other ignoble ends. Humans have a long and bloody history of violence that appears to be trending significantly downwards in the long term, from timespans of the millenia to the decade. Humans have a tendency towards prejudice and aggression towards outgroups and never cease to disappoint in their ceaseless conformity on a societal to friend-group level. Human sexual attraction is not as distance from the raping and plundering of the animal and early human kingdoms as we would choose to believe. While many believe that modern sexuality is influenced by modern pornography, I believe that the influence of innate sexual drives on pornography is larger than the reciprocal effect of pornography on sexuality. So if you want to know what the majority of people (Albeit, largely males) want in sex, just click the "Top Rated' videos on any porn site.
There is more to the demoralising effect of science than simply social psychology. Science reduces (correctly) human experience to electrical, neurobiological circuits. It presumes determinism (correctly), which in itself is fucking depressing. I have yet to come across any argument that satisfactorily defends the idea that determinism and free-will are compatible. This mechanistic, physicalist view of the mind involves no possibility of eternal life, no ultimate purpose. As I remarked in an earlier chapter, a scientific worldview necessarily leads to nihilism about moral properties despite the fallacious cries that somehow science can inform us that a broadly utilitarian position is the "correct" moral position.
There are numerous positive aspects of the scientific worldview. It frees us from dogma, except (as detractors may not) the dogma of the scientific method itself. However, I suspect that if you truly believe that the building and testing of fallible theories that are constantly being revised and improved constitutes a dogma, I don't believe that there is more common ground on us to work with. There are many interesting (at least to me, I don't want to claim that they are innately interesting, nothing is innately interesting) facts about the world we have discovered and only a fool would reject the proposition that living conditions have been improved by the Enlightenment. Nevertheless, the fact that there are positive aspects of a scientific worldview for individuals and society does not dismiss that there are the aforementioned detriments of a scientific worldview both on a philosophical level (through the necessary conclusion of nihilism) and an empirical level (through revealing the negative qualities of human nature, not to mention the reduction of art and beauty to evolution by natural selection).
I do think that science is important for human progress and I try to accept the facts of the universe as they appear to be, but this doesn't mean that life in this universe is not a fucking miserable meaningless piece of shit, even for the most privileged.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Story in progress
The summer breeze was an uncharacteristically south-east as we launched from the muddy upriver sands. Despite being assured we had kayaked before, the overly enthusiastic renter of our craft proceeded to explain the proper methods of rowing and boarding the vessel, if one may call it that. "Not feet first" she cried as my partner stepped into the front seat of our twin kayak. But soon we were off.
For those of you who have not been to this region let me explain. A river stretches some twenty kilometres between the Port and a sizeable inland lake. It winds down through oyster farms, houseboats, shipwrecks and childhood memories. We head downstream from our launch three kilometres from the entrance to the Port. The paddling is harder than I anticipated. It has been several years since I held a paddle. During my recent youth I spent several summers riding waves on a surf-ski several times a week but the years have apparently atrophied my muscles. I can tell I am doing most of the work paddling and an uncanny ability of the craft to turn to starboard is meaning my right arm soon tires of compensation. We pass under a bridge and I can remember riding over it many years ago, careful lest I fall onto the road.
The rest of our journey downwind proceeds in the usual way. The wind was brisk but not excessive, the sun was bright but not too hot, several boats gave a wake but they were few and gentle. After an hour or so of paddling I can see we are nearing the mouth of the river. To my concern, the southerly element to the wind has blown up a decent chop and combined with the remnants of an easterly swell appears to have generated substantial waves. Now, I am not talking of the waves one might see at an ocean beach, but neither am I talking of the chop of a harbour. We take a break at a wet and muddy sandbar and eat some lunch.
After we have eaten our fill we head off the the mouth of the river. Small swells begin to form and I can see that at the mouth of the river there is a breakwater. While the waves were small enough to not generate fear, they were large enough to generate some excitement. As we go through our first white water my partner stops paddling, a perhaps intuitive yet counter productive action. I yell abrasively to keep paddling in the seafaring way that only my forefathers understand, a way that has no hostility but will hear no contradiction. We get moving again and are soon nearing the end of the breakwater.
And that is when we see them. The dolphins.
In progress.
For those of you who have not been to this region let me explain. A river stretches some twenty kilometres between the Port and a sizeable inland lake. It winds down through oyster farms, houseboats, shipwrecks and childhood memories. We head downstream from our launch three kilometres from the entrance to the Port. The paddling is harder than I anticipated. It has been several years since I held a paddle. During my recent youth I spent several summers riding waves on a surf-ski several times a week but the years have apparently atrophied my muscles. I can tell I am doing most of the work paddling and an uncanny ability of the craft to turn to starboard is meaning my right arm soon tires of compensation. We pass under a bridge and I can remember riding over it many years ago, careful lest I fall onto the road.
The rest of our journey downwind proceeds in the usual way. The wind was brisk but not excessive, the sun was bright but not too hot, several boats gave a wake but they were few and gentle. After an hour or so of paddling I can see we are nearing the mouth of the river. To my concern, the southerly element to the wind has blown up a decent chop and combined with the remnants of an easterly swell appears to have generated substantial waves. Now, I am not talking of the waves one might see at an ocean beach, but neither am I talking of the chop of a harbour. We take a break at a wet and muddy sandbar and eat some lunch.
After we have eaten our fill we head off the the mouth of the river. Small swells begin to form and I can see that at the mouth of the river there is a breakwater. While the waves were small enough to not generate fear, they were large enough to generate some excitement. As we go through our first white water my partner stops paddling, a perhaps intuitive yet counter productive action. I yell abrasively to keep paddling in the seafaring way that only my forefathers understand, a way that has no hostility but will hear no contradiction. We get moving again and are soon nearing the end of the breakwater.
And that is when we see them. The dolphins.
In progress.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Counting
Look into my mind
Every second
Every first
My true enemy is these thoughts
Not their contents
Not their cause
Only sleep stops the works on top
But underneath
I know
They never stop
Every second
Every first
My true enemy is these thoughts
Not their contents
Not their cause
Only sleep stops the works on top
But underneath
I know
They never stop
Monday, July 29, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Harbour Master
The night claws the harbour
And spins its web
The water spun black
The cloud's blood red
From all that you could have been
A million years
We could have been
The sky flows with god
Fills my breath
We're waking in the valleys
Shaking off your death
And spins its web
The water spun black
The cloud's blood red
From all that you could have been
A million years
We could have been
The sky flows with god
Fills my breath
We're waking in the valleys
Shaking off your death
Tumor
It’s been
so long
The sunset’s
lost
Its grip on
me
When I was
young
I could
feel its colour
Drink it
clean
Now I wait
for it to return
With all I
had seen
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