Truth is a journey, not a destination. It exists independently of you and cannot be possessed or worn like a uniform.
A brief reminder to keep an eye out for those who exercise the Appeal to Special Authority. This is also called the Appeal to ‘I Am’, and is plied unconsciously by those persons who conceal the highest conceit of all. These persons are smart enough to not let their grandeur complex surface and reveal itself directly. However, the astute ethical skeptic can detect the rotting of flesh in the waters beneath, by the putrid smell of the fine bubbles rippling amidst the tranquil eddies of their discourse.
Be especially cautious of wasting time with those who ply their trade in ideas, by means of the following affirming the consequent and denying the antecedent rhetorical artifices. Those who have been pampered as the smartest in the room for some period of time, will often fall prey to this temptation.
The Appeals to Special Authority (‘I Am’)
- If I don’t know about it, it does not exist.
- If I don’t get it, it cannot actually make sense, and therefore no one can get it.
- If a viewpoint exists, and I have not debunked it, then it is irrelevant.
- If it is found to be true, then I have known it all along, it is old news.
Original Form (Affirming the Consequent):
If it is knowable (P), then I know about it (Q).
I know about it (Q).
Therefore, it is knowable (P).Contrapositive Form (Denying the Antecedent):
If it is knowable (P), then I know about it (Q).
I do not know about it (~Q).
Therefore, it is not knowable (~P).
Two innate personal position options exist regarding truth, and the mind must choose one or the other:
A. Truth is a seldom-attained state of inference, derived from deductive logical calculus, inside the prosecution of a critical path of probative questions. Truth is not a destination, nor is it in any way related to me personally.
or
B. Truth is an object which exists inside my perception base and collection of conquests. I conflate myself with truth. I adorn myself with its ornaments. My objective is to use all available means to secure agreement on this from others in order to avoid any kind of collapse into dissonance.
Understanding this is merely one of the tools handy in spotting the person who subconsciously operates under the ‘I Am’ (God-self) paradigm.
But be careful of bringing this up to an abuser therein. They will not have heard of this informal fallacy of rhetoric, therefore of course it is not a valid one. Of course as well, we must first examine our own steps to make sure that we do not begin to fall for this foible in ourselves. It is a temptation for everyone.
The Ethical Skeptic, “Appeal to Special Authority (The Appeal to ‘I Am’)”; The Ethical Skeptic, WordPress, 25 Dec 2023; Web, https://theethicalskeptic.com/?p=78904
A couple of questions regarding your innate personal positions: 1. If truth is not a destination, then how can you “pursue it along a critical path of probative questions”? A path implies a destination. Also, if it is not related to me (or others) personally, of what use is it? How will I obtain funding for my research if no one cares? Scientists have to eat! 2. If truth is “seldom-attained”, doesn’t this imply that it is “existing *inside* my perception and possession”, if only seldomly? Don’t we all possess some modicum of truth, albeit unrefined? Otherwise how could we… Read more »
1. You must distinguish between an a priori intended and placeholder ‘destination’. These are two differing logical objects. A critical path of probative questions does not have a specific a priori destination – but rather a placeholder one. By equivocating between the two, we manufacture a false paradox. 2. Truth is seldom attained, except when we possess it – then it is attained most easily in the eyes of the possessor. But that is not truth. Obviousness as well (walk talk eat drive – they are at once ‘simple’ and ‘truth’ – the source of the false ‘Occam’s Razor’) and… Read more »
I guess my point was that a placeholder destination, a placeholder truth (hypothesis), is necessary for us to act. Not only this, but our placeholder truths, though flawed, are also absolutely true to some extent, however small, otherwise our enterprises would not be successful. We would not “walk” but “stumble”. Newton’s laws, though they are a flawed placeholder truth, were in fact “correct enough” to allow humanity to succeed in many of the technological advancements of the last 400 years. Not only this, but his motivation to improve on the previous placeholder truths was the belief (a priori) that a… Read more »
“Are you saying that both gods are the same?” I am saying that both are imposters. At the top of the mountain is the (I AM the Name) office holder who is not allowed to say the real name of god, and is perplexed as to why man expresses the very violent, lustful, and selfish behavior he programmed into his DNA to begin with (and saw demonstrated in advance with homo naledi, homo denisova, homo neanderthalensis, and homo floresiensis as forerunners) – but then denies any responsibility for his work. My definition of ‘god’ is any entity which coalesces power,… Read more »
Ah, thank you for the clarification. So, if I were to repent of my imposter-worship, what must I do to be saved? What new story should I tell my children? Is there an entity which coalesces accountability and disperses power, an anti-god? To quote Nietzsche’s madman, “Whither are we moving? Away from all suns?”
May I chime in?
“Religion doesn’t save anybody.
Religion is man’s attempt to reach God.
Christianity is God’s attempt to reach man.
Religion & Christianity is believing in someone else’s experience.
Spirituality is having your own experience.
There is a vast difference.”
We are one. Only egos, beliefs, and fears separate us.
May peace be upon thee…
Spirituality is indeed the goal. Trying to become spiritual without being religious is like trying to learn to play basketball without a coach, a team, or training. There are those who seem to manage it, but to me it makes a difficult journey even harder than it needs to be. Indeed religion is another person’s experience, that’s the whole point. There was a period of my life I tried to be spiritual without being religious but found it to be unbearably lonely in my own experience. Peace be to you, too, brother.
Do you think you could do your own “testimony of the earth on the origin of its DNA bases species” or similar sometime TES? Something like the earth being called to testify of its history, just a mythological work speculating a possible road of significant births and deaths of notable species on the earth since the beginning? That way we can catch up
Gosh, I don’t think we are aware of the true significant births the Earth has witnessed. Civilization may get erased and have to restart over and over – while most heroes go fully unrecognized and unknown.
TES
I am the authority of my opinion. TES is one of the best blogs I have ever had the good fortune to discover. Thought provoking content, critical thinking lessons by sincere effort on part of author, deep spiritual wisdom, and much more… even humor. I actually laughed at the “They will not have heard of this fallacy, therefore it doesn’t exist.” One of the things I get out of this writing is the mirror it provides. If this exists, it means I have at least a grain of it somewhere in myself. Where can I find it and in what… Read more »
LOL! Thanks Mark I have had this rhetoric used against me a great deal. I despise it so much, that I did begin to seek out how to eliminate it from my repertoire as I detect myself using it. Now when people offer up novel mods, additions, ideas – I make sure that I recognize it as such, and thank the person for their generous contribution. I had like 30 changes to my Climate article from persons who spotted needed improvements or mistakes. #4 in this list is just such an example. That comes from LawEyre on X. Simply Brilliant,… Read more »
TES, For sure you are going to run into this kind of thing often due to the nature of what it is you are doing, and what that does to others. I salute you for this labor of love you share with us. The most sneaky form of righteousness is when you are actually right and know it from personal experience(knowing requires experience). What you are kind of indirectly addressing with this entry, is the intellectual version of the intuitive hiding from its own limitations locking itself out of further expansion. They both take the same form. The more they… Read more »
“Disagreement is the pursuit of truth when all are participating in good faith.”
Well said. This is why I block trolls who bear no understanding of themselves. It is a waste of time to engage with them.
TES
The Gnostic Christmas Story Alleluia! Christ brings the 3rd Order Powers to Earth “Before Moses was, I Am.” But the Christ is an ethereal creature that predates the birth of Jesus. Jesus and the Christ aren’t exactly the same, although Jesus was fully Christ. The Christ predates the birth of the human known as Jesus. What Jesus actually said was: “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), and, “Whoever welcomes me welcomes the Father that sent me” (Luke 9:48). Those who have eyes to see the Christ are able to remember their Father in Heaven. Those who remember their… Read more »