Tortoises all the Way Down
rwe: "By the mid-70's the Left was promoting the idea that the Cold War did not in reality exist, that it was simply a morally equivalent competition between two competing socioeconomic systems."
Again, if we take Richard Dawkin's argument that evolution strategy is built around the continuance of genes, it becomes simple to place the ideological value of Soviet Russia as a protector of gene vehicles, and we can be comfortable calling it evil. The blindness of the Left in general can be attributed to the idea that ideology trumps biology, instead of being subordinate to the well-being of the gene vehicle. In this perverted understanding, the person is a tool used for the survival of an ideology, instead of an ideology being a tool used for the survival of the person.
There is a story related by Stephen Hawkings about an eminent physicist giving a lecture on the nature of the universe. At the end of the lecture, a person raises their hand and says, "I'm sorry, you're wrong. The world is supported on the back of a tortoise."
The physicist responds, "Then what supports the tortoise?"
The questioner was not phased in the least. He looks at the physicist and proclaims, "It's tortoises all the way down."
Well, Dawkins, in a sense, gives us a workable paradigm for our ideological struggle: life all the way down.
It may come to pass that Islam in general is incompatible with the West, but if that is the case we will soon need Virgil as a guide. The inferno is all that lies down that road.
Until then, I will put my hope in the "selfish gene", the desire to survive and reproduce, overcoming the inherent intolerance in the Islamic faith.
Again, if we take Richard Dawkin's argument that evolution strategy is built around the continuance of genes, it becomes simple to place the ideological value of Soviet Russia as a protector of gene vehicles, and we can be comfortable calling it evil. The blindness of the Left in general can be attributed to the idea that ideology trumps biology, instead of being subordinate to the well-being of the gene vehicle. In this perverted understanding, the person is a tool used for the survival of an ideology, instead of an ideology being a tool used for the survival of the person.
There is a story related by Stephen Hawkings about an eminent physicist giving a lecture on the nature of the universe. At the end of the lecture, a person raises their hand and says, "I'm sorry, you're wrong. The world is supported on the back of a tortoise."
The physicist responds, "Then what supports the tortoise?"
The questioner was not phased in the least. He looks at the physicist and proclaims, "It's tortoises all the way down."
Well, Dawkins, in a sense, gives us a workable paradigm for our ideological struggle: life all the way down.
It may come to pass that Islam in general is incompatible with the West, but if that is the case we will soon need Virgil as a guide. The inferno is all that lies down that road.
Until then, I will put my hope in the "selfish gene", the desire to survive and reproduce, overcoming the inherent intolerance in the Islamic faith.
posted by John Aristides at 11:15 AM
2 Comments:
You are an impressive thinker and writer. I came across your very thoughtful comments at the Belmont Club; there used to be more intellectually challenging commenting such as yours six months ago but things have fallen off there a bit lately. Despite the fact that I probably (I haven't read enough to be sure) come from a different political perspective than you, I would strongly encourage you to keep up with your blog and your writing. I would agree 100% (I'll spare you the embarrassment of doing it publicly over at the Belmont Club) your point about an ideological banner that can rally as many troops under its banner is the key to defeating militant Islam.
kevin:
I appreciate your compliment. I also think that the Belmont Club comment section is less serious than it used to be.
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