Shaun Kenney | Politics and Religion in Virginia's Public Square


Friday, February 21, 2003 The Westboro Baptist Church has decided to pay Fredericksburg a visit. It seems as if Mary Washington College and the Dance & Theatre Department's showing of The Laramie Project is the catalyst, but they will also be paying a visit to our local churches as well. It seems as if the tactic that the WBC employs is to protest the play's performance, then head off to the local "lukewarm" churches to provoke fights. If some well-intentioned but hapless parishioner confronts these guys, they immediately slap a lawsuit on the parishioner and ultimately win. The money awarded in the civil suit is then used to travel to other sites across the nation. Better to give these guys all of the attention they deserve. And that is none. In other news, Google's alt.philosophy.kant UseNet group is in the process of discussing not my paper, but the implications of quantum physics and relativity theory have on Kantian epistemology. Concerning my paper, it seems as if there are four flaws than need to be addressed. (1) Determinism and Kant. In the very beginning of the paper, I make the statement that Newtonian determinism underlies all of Kantian epistemology, and therefore incurs the same faults. It is a bold statement to make, and perhaps it emerges too early in the paper. The claim is discussed and defended in the paper, but the first sentence is a bit strong and causes a bit of controversy with entrenched Kantians. Additionally, there seems to be some denial that Kant was in fact responding to Newton and Leibniz concerning their concepts of space, a discussion which has a tremendous impact in one's understanding of the Critique. The statement concerning Newtonian determinism could use a bit more shoring up, although I defend it entirely. (2) More emphasis needs to be made of modern physicist dislike (and in Weinberg's case, hatred) of Kantian epistemology and its effects on relativity theory and quantum mechanics. Einstein lamented over the continuing denial of the objectivity of space, a denial attributed to Descartes and Kant. That problem - it seems - is not resolved and needs to be clearly demonstrated in the paper. (3) Citations. Specifically concerning Kant, there is a demand that citations conform not to the edition of the work, but to the original citations provided (e.g. A23, B37). (4) CHI vs. MWI. This is a rather lengthy topic to discuss, but it relates to the consequences of showing how far-reaching the quantum world effects are on mundane events. If chaos theory is the answer (and I believe it to be so), then MWI is given a boost concerning the ghost world's theory, although the consequences of MWI is that there is very little room for a notion of God if consciousnesses are continuously validating existence. If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? In MWI, it only makes a sound if you are there to observe it it seems. That's a pitfall that should be avoided, but then again I haven't really explored the CHI vs. MWI debate other than its superficial implications. Unfortunately I am being stalked by one individual concerning Kant and quantum physics, and the discussion has carried over to the Yahoo Groups Kant-I board as well. Seems to be nothing more than a bombthrower, but his critique has been marginally helpful. It would still seem that - with one exception - the paper is generally well received by those who read it. posted by Shaun Kenney \| 2/21/2003 10:28:00 AM \| 0 comments 0 Comments: Post a Comment Home
	RedStormPAC $ JEFFERSONIAD POLL: Whom do you support for Virginia Attorney General? 1) John Brownlee 2) Ken Cuccinelli View Results About ShaunKenney.com is one of Virginia's oldest political blogs, focusing on the role of religion and politics in public life. Shaun Kenney, 30, lives in Fluvanna County, Virginia. Contact E-mail RSS/Atom Feed The Jeffersoniad Archives March 2002 April 2002 May 2002 June 2002 July 2002 August 2002 September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 April 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009