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Ian,

"People who see absolute definitions see conflict. Things that either fit the
terms of a defintion or do not."

Absolutely.

"Clearly to say, in an axiomatic sounding way, 'It is a pre-requisite of wisdom-enquiry that nothing can be defined in axiomatic terms' would be an exception to its own rule ... if viewed as a logical assertion."

 

Clearly.

"It may not be a logical thing to say, but I do actually believe it is the wise thing to say."

 

Perhaps. Depends on the way the world is.

 

"And not, I repeat not, because I'm "inspired" by Alan saying it."

 

Okay. Okay. I'll take your word for it.

 

"(In fact the "Hofstadterian" recursion in the statement, when viewed as logical assertion, is for me a hint of its inherent wisdom, in a way that is nigh impossible to describe in any conventional way - believe me I've tried :-) )"

 

Now you've lost me. ;-p

"Let's leave it there for now. Whether we are talking the rules of discourse or the 'definitions" of wisdom-enquiry ... this issue will remain pretty central I'll wager."

 

Perhaps many of our problems result when we do not take the trouble to agree "rules of discourse" before we start with "definitions" of wisdom-enquiry. But, I guess that we'll work them out as we go along....

 

Just for the record, when I say that we need defintions, I usually mean as heuristics -- as something that is open for refinement, re-evaluation, development, and criticism -- in order to clarify and work towards solving real problems.

 

For me, "absolute" means "not open for discussion" or "not open for negotiation", and, while there are some issues which I do take an absolutist position, they are actually few and far between.

 

For example, I get outraged at the TV show "Robot Wars" -- have you seen it?

"They are not robots! Robots are autonomous machines that are capable of adjusting to their environment in order to resolve their internal programming." I cry out.

"They are remote controlled cars!!!!!"

I shout to anyone who'll listen.

cheers,

Karl.