Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Foundations of Conservatism: The Nature of Reality

The next great dividing line separating the Conservatives from the rest concerns an understanding of the nature of reality. Conservatives believe that while there is an objective reality which is extrinsic to their perception, not all of this reality is perceptible. In other words, there is a realm of existence which we cannot access directly with our senses. It is in this realm where stuff like universals, souls, gods and sky pixies of various types inhabit. With the exception of modern man, nearly all of the peoples that have ever lived believed that reality comprised an earthly component and a heavenly one. Be that Nirvana, Valhalla, Penglai Shan, Heaven, Aukumea, etc.

I suppose the minimum belief that a man can have and still be called a Conservative is agnosticism. Strict Empiricism, that is the denial of any plane of reality outside that which accessible by the senses separates a man from the conservative fold.

The importance of this "plane of non- perceptible reality" is that from it arise many of the transcendental imperatives by which a man must live his life. Ought can't be derived from is from the earthly plane but can be derived from from the transcedental one.

4 comments:

The Deuce said...
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The Deuce said...
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The Deuce said...

I like this post. It drives me nuts when people, even religious people, say "You can't derive ought from is." Hello? If you can't derive ought from what exists, then what can you derive it from? The imaginary?

You can't derive ought from a telos-free materialist conception of reality. When people make that statement, they are implicitly granting the materialist's view.

However, you can derive ought from teleological claims about ultimate reality, such as, for instance, "It is against the Creator's divine purpose for you to murder" etc.

The Social Pathologist said...

However, you can derive ought from teleological claims about ultimate reality, such as, for instance, "It is against the Creator's divine purpose for you to murder" etc.

Correct answer!