Some days ago Geoff wrote :
> always get dubious when archaeologists (or other non-specialists) start
> splitting some of philosophy's finer hairs - at best it usually sounds
> pretentious (i'll meet your hegel and raise you a heidigger or, even better yet,
> a lyotard or debord), at worst "logic" and "rational discourse" break down into
> something more akin to schoolyard namecalling ("you unadulterated nietzschien
> cathartist! you couldn't strike a dworkinian pose if your life depended on it",
> etc.)
You're a wise man,Geoff,who can predict the future ;-)
> > Why do we have to "choose which is the 'right' one, or the 'best' one" in
> > a universal sense? The right and best one is the one that is right and
> > best for the individual concerned, and it is right and best for him/her
> > because it is the one that s/he has developed over his/her lifetime as a
> > result of his/her experiences of life.
> >
> yeah, but a '"right" or "best" one' for archaeological interpretation is implied
> here - as with all science you have this "myth" of objectivity - without which,
> is any science valid, or just a waste of time? should i just give up and devote
> my life to making burgers for mcdonald?
Naah,the best remedy is Dr.Johnson's refutation of Berkeley.Find a large stone
and give it a good kicking.You do it over there,and I'll do it over here,and thus
some kind of fundamental certainty is established.No doubt,the philosophers
will still be arguing in another two thousand years,because that's what they like
to do.
But I doubt that there will be any surviving.A few days ago I read that the planet's
biodiversity is vanishing before our eyes,with species becoming extinct much
faster than they can be recorded.
Then I read that the archaeological remains of Herefordshire are being lost due
to deep ploughing,the farmers having changed from cattle to potatoes because
the beef market has collapsed.
Today I read that the remains at Talljanky,Ukraine are likely to vanish due to
ploughing before they can be properly studied.If a site like that,which is crucial to
understanding world history and civilisation cannot be preserved,then what hope ?
The population increase,equivalent to a large city every single day,means that the
pressures will increase tremendously into the foreseeable future.
With global recession threatening,there will be no spare funds for protecting
the archaeological heritage,and ever more pressure to destroy wildlife habitat
and previously undisturbed archaeological sites.I find it most depressing.
BTW,the Talljanky article is at
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/SCIENCE/SCIENCE/t000080172.1.html
if anyone is interested.
Chris.
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