The Clouds of Ideology

NOTE: The meeting has been opened up to the Waiting List. Wait Listers may attend.

The Boston Marathon bombings of April 15th reinforced in my mind my own personal ideology which is that ideology is in many respects the scourge of humanity. My ideology is anti-ideology, and my only absolutism is that there are no absolutes. Sure, there are many ideologies that express reality in beautiful ways and inspire much that is laudable. However, by their nature, ideology and dogma bypass and circumvent reasoning that extends outside the myopic confines of dogmatic and ideological doctrine.

We can do without ideology for the most part; they can serve as nice accompaniments to solid empirical and ethical reasoning but ideology in and of itself proves NOTHING. What matters are the fundamental principles of which any sort of rational thinking must ultimately be grounded upon. I believe that Kurt Gödel's incompleteness theorem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems)—at least in a metaphorical sense, can be borrowed to make the point that I am making here. Gödel argued that, in the case of number theories, propositions cannot be proved without going outside the system. Which is not to say that external propositions will provide the proof, but the suggestion and the inference may be drawn that they may form a deeper bedrock of belief. My argument is that rigid ideology, by rejecting "external" systems of belief creates cadres of intellectual myopes blind to deeper wisdom.

Back to the Boston bombings. The full truth of what occurred, of course, has not yet been established, but the narrative of the insane potential of ideology is nonetheless produced regardless of the particular facts that emerge from the recent tragedy. It is possible that extremist groups enable latent psychopaths waiting for a rationalization or excuse to manifest their psychopathology, but it is also possible—and this is far more insidious—that ideology so distorts and dulls the moral and rational sensitivity that it can cause non-psychopaths to embrace the behavior of psychopaths. How else does one describe placing a bomb in front of an 8 year old child?

This topic invites a discussion on what might account for reason and rational understanding that is not covered and obscured by thick and impenetrable clouds of ideology. Let me conclude by plugging my new book, Ethical Empowerment: Virtue Beyond the Paradigms (http://xrl.us/bo8yf3), that has been just released as an eBook—and will later be published in print—and which resonates with the topic of this discussion.

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Menu (http://www.greenteanewton.com/GreenTea_Newton_Chinese_Food_Menu_2010.pdf)

FORMAT: When both big round tables are used, a designated half of each will move to the other table at approximately 8:45 pm in order to encourage mixing between the tables (each table accommodates up to 13 people). After all, our events are as social as they are intellectual, and this format encourages the flourishing of both!

FOOD AND BEVERAGES: This restaurant is extremely accommodating and allows us to stay until closing (11:00pm) if we choose. It is not fair if they are not fairly compensated. And we use a large percentage of the total seats in the house! The basic cost is $20 (this covers your entree, 3 or 4 shared appetizers per table, tax and gratuity but not drinks). DRINKS ARE ORDERED AND PAID FOR SEPARATELY BY EACH ATTENDEE. If on a rare occasion you only order a drink or an appetizer, or if you do not order anything, then you will owe a minimum charge of $12 to compensate the restaurant for their service. If there should be a shortfall, which is unlikely, then the group agrees to chip in to cover the difference. By attending this event you hereby agree to this policy.

Sometimes some of us head out for a late night prolongation of the evening at a nearby pub. However, during these occasions please do not carpool to the pub: drive your car down the street and re-park it at the pub because there is TOWING after the little mall area closes for the night.

To reach me at my office, call 617-964-4800

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No Show Policy (https://www.meetup.com/Philosophy-Discussions/pages/No_Show_Policy/) (PLEASE READ)