Matters of Reason

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aergnist
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Matters of Reason

Post by aergnist » Sat May 18, 2019 5:08 pm

It is here that I will convey for reflection my observations and pieces of learning that come with experience upon the isle of Arelith, and before. I remind myself in this introduction that I must see each line in new light when it has gone and come again many times.

To eschew failure I will eschew expectation. This project will only be tended to when my mind is fresh of experience.

I will start by outlining the favored enemy of reason and learning.

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The Purview of the Moron

Post by aergnist » Sat May 18, 2019 5:09 pm

It is the purview of the moron to seem a detriment to rationality through harassment and ignorance. It is his tendency to spread noise where there was sound logic. We see in him an absolute enemy of all matters and endeavours of Reason, and we will not listen to him. It is in our justification to ignore him and denounce him and silence him, and it is our tendency to rise in anger when he does not listen. We deem him worthless insofar his mind is closed.

Fallacy.

The moron is functional in that he is inevitable. As we have to take animals as reality and as we have to take monsters as reality, we will take the moron. We will accept his offensive behaviour as a training exercise. We will accept that having to contend with the moron sharpens our arguments and our ability to educate. As men of reason it is our duty to hone our skill in argument and logic, and the moron provides the momentous challenge. He may be as persistent as the whetstone.

So this is the necessary patience. Through observation, reflection, and newfound vectors will we learn by trying to teach, and this holds truth in all matters of teaching. It is Knowledge that is the thing where you gain more when you give away.

However, there must be limits.

It is necessary that we do not engage with the moron when there is significant risk. As there are many kinds of monsters, there will be many kinds of the moron, too many to name them all here. As there are monsters that may be safely contained and dealt with in due time, there are those that must be dealt with immediately. So it is with the moron. When the moron holds inclination and sway or ability to damage ourselves or the larger community, then he is prone to avarice or fanaticism, and we must cut him short. He is the truly insufferable moron, and as men of reason it is our duty to both prevail and to take feasible and necessary action against him.

So I conclude that The Purview of the Moron is split in two. Only one side need be true.
  1. He will be an object of education even if he will not himself be educated.
  2. He will be an outright danger through willfulness and ability.

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On Discipline

Post by aergnist » Sat May 25, 2019 10:36 am

It is an incubator of truth. As men of reason, we will accept that our strict discipline and focus is necessary to achieve the purest results in study. We will eschew distractions and ascertain that our sight is as true as it may be. This is because of the fact that no matter how closely we study the thing that is studied, it remains persistent. We, however, may not.

So it is that we will employ Discipline to retain our posture when it is challenged. Posture may be physical and it may be mental. It is both the vigilance of the weary guardsman and the introspection of the begrudging philosopher. In Discipline we wield our ability to coerce ourself to correctness.

Discipline comes in many forms.

When we study something such as the rabbit and require to know its anatomy or behaviour, we will make sure to define accurately what it is we wish to discover, and then handle the rabbit in the appropriate way. If our requirement is to know these things about a rabbit in the wild, we cannot let our weaker inclinations mire the results. We will not pet the rabbit when we study its behaviour, and we will not move it elsewhere before we kill it to examine its anatomy. Our Discipline will keep us leashed from the inclination to become the rabbit's friend or tamper with its circumstance. This is a simple example that even the moron may understand.

The more complicated examples are the times when we will be subject to a perception that is changing. Any man will be able to imagine one piece of property that is dear or one memory that bestows mirth. This happens through enthusiasm for the thing rather than the study, and is all well and good in itself, but it is detriment to rational study. This is understood well enough by those who correctly use the word "bias".

As men of reason, we must achieve distance.

To achieve distance, we need to employ our Discipline.
  1. Through Discipline you will REALISE you are too involved.
  2. Through Discipline you will ACHIEVE distance.
  3. Through Discipline you will MAINTAIN distance.
Without distance we will be prone to give statements that will sound like reason and will sound like truth, even though they are not. This is the danger that makes our Discipline a necessity. Without it we will not be able to coerce ourself to return to the integral mental posture.

With sufficient training in Discipline, it is possible to always retain posture. This is the optimal circumstance. As the disciplined warrior keeps his footing despite great outside effort to make him fall, the scholar keeps his studious outlook despite great pressure from within to be involved. The scholar does not succumb to his desires, and the warrior is not toppled. This is the simplest analogy between the physical and mental posture.

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The Art of Aging

Post by aergnist » Tue Jun 04, 2019 11:51 am

The Elder is a polished gem. Only through Age and Experience will their purest form take shape, as the cutting and the polishing pulls a gem from raw ore. Some will be diamonds and others will be garnets.

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