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Sunday, August 21, 2016

The Peripatetic Philosopher reveals:


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Nowhere Man in Nowhere Land

PART NINETEEN

The Ghost in the Machine

James Raymond Fisher, Jr., Ph.D.
© August 21, 2016

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The “Scientific Revolution” (1543 – 1700) changed everything.  French mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes (“I think, therefore I am!”), not only seeded this revolution, but changed the hard wiring of the Western mind up through several “Industrial Revolutions” to our present 21st century “Digital Age.” 

Descartes did this by putting God on the shelf, revered and respected, but no longer in charge as life changed from a “God centered” to a “man centered” universe.  The French philosopher didn’t stop there.  He changed the way the Western mind looks at life, perceives and resolves its difficulties, creating a reductionist philosophy whereby problems are broken down from their complexities to their most elemental roots, analyzed and evaluated, then reassembled as to what they mean.  The process is considered “scientific” because it purports to be “value free,” and can be replicated without human bias.

This is popularly known as “deductive thinking” or cognitive reasoning.  It has dominated Western thought for the past several centuries as if part of our collective DNA, not only in science, but in the social and behavioral sciences, education, politics, economics, medicine, government, the military, diplomacy, business and marketing, philosophy, theology, theosophy, even sports and lifestyles, polls and Politifact checkers.  It now has the popular handle of “analytics.”  Linked to the “scientific method,” it is trusted because it has no “bias.”   

In this scenario, there is little room for “inductive thinking” or intuitive reasoning which involves the body as well as the mind.  Since the time of Rene Descartes, there has been no place for emotions, which drives human behavior, and so the mind remains homeless.   


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Nowhere Man in Nowhere Land: Part Twenty – Progress and the Growing Great Divide!    



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