It's traditional at this time of year for me to unfurl the standard of Enlightenment values. For a change I'm going to hand that banner to David Brin, who says all that I want to say but with different emphasis and without my English reserve:
"[Here's a simple catechism] spoken not just by scientists, but by any person with an ounce of decency or maturity. 'I might be wrong. Let’s find out.'”Another year means an opportunity to do better. And that's all the more important at a time when populism, polarization and conspiracy craziness look to be in the ascendency, putting liberal, democratic and humanistic values under threat. As individuals we can do nothing; all together we can make a fairer world and improve the lot of human beings now and in the future. Let's try and make it a happy 2024 for as many people as possible.
Might advocates of Nihilism be allowed a right of reply?
ReplyDeleteOf course! Popper's tolerance paradox is frequently misinterpreted, but he (and I) wouldn't want to prevent anyone from expressing any reasoned argument in support of any position, including nihilism.
DeletePS: Admittedly I did shut down debate on the "was Professor Barker a mass-murdering psycho fascist?" question, but only because the people commenting had gone way beyond reasoned argument, or indeed sanity.
DeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteWell, for instance:
'Nothing is true, and everything is permissible.'
Traditionally attributed to Hassan i Sabbah, founder of the Assassins (1034?-1124 AD).
Or:
ReplyDelete‘¡Viva la Muerte!’
José Millán-Astray y Terreros (1879-1954). Bridge player and Philosopher.
I'm fond of the Hassan-i-Sabbah quote (if indeed it originated with him) which is why it appears twice in different forms in the Blood Sword gamebooks IIRC. And that was decades before the Assassin's Creed series got hold of it. Of course, it's also the title(s) of two very distinguished fantasy (or real?) novels (or memoirs) which I urge Fabled Lands readers to get out there and buy.
DeleteI also like, "An' ye harm none, do what ye will." As for Millan-Ashtray(sic)'s rant, I think he got the rejoinder that every jackbooted thug/philosopher longs to hear: "“Venceréis, pero no convenceréis.”
I have to add this for the mere serendipity of it. Having gone a whole year (or possibly decade) without seeing any mention of nihilism, the moment we start discussing it here I came across an interview with children's performer Michael Rosen in which he claims to be a nihilist -- or rather, his daughter claims it for him. (Inigo Montoya would tell them, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.")
DeleteOr:
ReplyDeleteSTEPHEN FRY!
The internet has given me a Stephen Fry quote, though I don't know that it adds much other than to double underline the commitment to free speech I already mentioned before:
Delete“It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so fucking what."
A pithier quote from Dr Julian Karswell which harks back to the Hashishin one: "Where does imagination end and reality begin?"
My point was actually the mere existence and prospering of Stephen Fry as evidence for the Nihilist case. Although I do salute (albeit with averted eyes) his breathtaking bandwagon-boarding abilities.
DeleteAnd re earlier entries:
DeleteUnamuno’s supposed put-down of Milan Astray looks to have been fabricated years after the event by Michael Portillo’s father. Along with the rest of his report of the confrontation at Salamanca University.
Plus I would argue that Astray’s own quote, as above, contains greater subtlety and depth than a cursory read might suggest - to do with spiritual disengagement from dishonourable clinging on to Life. Akin to the WWII Norwegian Resistance’s rallying cry: ‘To live is not necessary’…
But what do I know? Enough already!
Happy New Year everyone!
For me that would be the commercial success of Dan Brown, Lee Child, et al. What is the point of talking about the craft of writing -- indeed, how is it possible even to think of there being any such craft -- when such Blind Idiot Gods are revered by readers?
DeleteI console myself with the thought that this vexed the Blessed Oscar too, as previously discussed in re the scribblings of Marie Corelli. And I share Oscar's "thus I refute!" verbal kick in response.
Regarding the conflicting versions of the Astray/Unamuno confrontation, it is best to remember the observation of another (though rather more personable) war cripple, Cervantes, namely: "History is the mother of truth." Although (underscoring the very concept) that was perhaps introduced later by Pierre Menard or even by Borges.
DeleteThe Hagakure advises the would-be warrior to enter battle with the attitude that he (or she) is already dead. That might be what the Norwegian Resistance were aiming for, and -- who knows -- maybe even the Spanish fascists. Though I noticed while touring Guatemala that army regiments there fetishize death, with images of skulls painted on their trucks and so forth, in a way that would probably draw only scorn from a British squaddie. I suspect the way Nazis and fascists deploy it is less about a Bushido-like stoicism and more to do with terrorizing their victims.
If anyone has remained with us this far, Wikipedia has a page on the Unamuno/Astray spat. Draw your own conclusions. Unamuno died two months later while being "interviewed" by the fascists, so his remark to Millan-Astray (even if he never actually said it) was prophetic.
And finally, as Sir Trevor McDonald used to say, here's a review by Bernard Knox, who was a participant in the Spanish civil war, of several books about the time. Those who are interested will no doubt also seek out Orwell, Hemingway and Koestler and should not fail to watch Pan's Labyrinth, which is set after the war but still communicates plenty of the authentic Franco nihilist flavour.
Delete