tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18234909.post8200466767140721221..comments2024-01-22T04:45:58.881+02:00Comments on Simply Jews: A short essay on relativity and relativismGideonSworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13951672633294843881noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18234909.post-31849982231132433672010-08-29T20:53:31.000+03:002010-08-29T20:53:31.000+03:00Oops. Thanks.Oops. Thanks.SnoopyTheGoonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18234909.post-50644013458748595102010-08-29T19:35:30.000+03:002010-08-29T19:35:30.000+03:00"As Einstein sad"
said"As Einstein sad"<br /><br />saidIzgadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18234909.post-94517559309403192010-08-24T00:47:44.147+03:002010-08-24T00:47:44.147+03:00I love this relativity thing from a woman's po...I love this relativity thing from a woman's point of view. Non-philosophical one, that is. What appeals to me is that the general theory of relativity's gravity model can be represented by a benwa ball resting on a taut fishnet stocking. That's where philosophy starts.Ze Kremenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05205804457172825036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18234909.post-6203976511412484842010-08-23T17:09:27.000+03:002010-08-23T17:09:27.000+03:00"that there is no absolute frame, no "gr..."that there is no absolute frame, no "ground" if you like, by means of which we can perceive objective reality."<br /><br />Let's try to be precise, Dr. Dawg. It physics, as long as all the multiple observers follow the established rules, the results of observation will be different, depending on the observation point. This is not Einstein, by the way - rather Galileo or even somebody before...<br /><br />However, all the results of such multiple observations are objective and adhere to the same rules (physical laws).<br /><br />Relativism, however, requires different rules and different methodologies in different (social or other) environments, of necessity ending up in different and hardly objective results, depending on the observers political/ideological/philosophical/etc. preferences.<br /><br />Those are two completely different approaches, and I don't even want to go into comparison of the two.<br /><br />And from your remark re Norm's post: it could be important for an anthropoligist to understand why people like Taliban treat women worse than they would treat their dogs. I don't argue this point.<br /><br />For Mr Fergusson, though, with his attempt to persuade the world to leave the Taliban better alone, I have nothing but contempt. And so does Norm, albeit in a post full of best of British understatement.SnoopyTheGoonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18234909.post-76240592951495074912010-08-23T02:41:01.000+03:002010-08-23T02:41:01.000+03:00Well, it's all relative to me. Except my relat...Well, it's all relative to me. Except my relatives, who can get very specific most of the time.Dick Stanleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18234909.post-78398427182039225512010-08-22T22:25:01.000+03:002010-08-22T22:25:01.000+03:00It's more than just the word-similarity. It...It's more than just the word-similarity. It's a common understanding: that there is no absolute frame, no "ground" if you like, by means of which we can perceive objective reality.<br /><br />Norm is really concerned about moral relativism, although I think it's important to understand why people do what they do, and he may not think that's worth the effort.Dr.Dawgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18234909.post-56010791682341583382010-08-22T19:38:34.000+03:002010-08-22T19:38:34.000+03:00Thanks.
I had no idea of the subject too, till it...Thanks.<br /><br />I had no idea of the subject too, till it was sprung on my by a friend.<br /><br />Otherwise, the statement I made: "there is nothing common between relativity and relativism" is not strictly true. The root of the two words is the same, and the audio effect of pronouncing them could be confusing. No doubt this confusion has caused the long range effect you mention.<br /><br />I am always thanking the whatever deity that has chosen an education in physics for me. As for the "Cultural relativism", check this out:<br /><br />http://normblog.typepad.com/normblog/2010/08/a-proud-culture.htmlSnoopyTheGoonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18234909.post-28825355688383053242010-08-22T19:05:02.000+03:002010-08-22T19:05:02.000+03:00Great piece. I had no idea that relativity had bec...Great piece. I had no idea that relativity had become so political, except for the far-Right who are upset that Einstein was Jewish and call him a plagiarist.<br /><br />But I have wondered whether the notion of relativity, entering the popular culture early in the 20th century, allowed people to question the notion of absolutism in other spheres. In that sense there may be a link, if only by suggestion.<br /><br />"Cultural relativism" has, however, a clear origin in anthropology. It has always meant "understanding a culture on its own terms" and marks a break with the "our past is their present" kind of colonial thinking. But it is too easily confused with moral relativism, which I agree is to be challenged. If folks were serious about moral relativism, they'd give the Nazis a pass, arguing that they were a German cultural expression duing the Third Reich.Dr.Dawgnoreply@blogger.com