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A tragedy unobserved?
Clinton CHISHOLM
Monday, July 29, 2013
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz2b6bD6wmn
On Friday, June 30, atheists Lloyd D'Aguilar and Javed Jaghai, engaged Dr Wayne West and myself in a debate at the UWI's N1 lecture theatre with the moot, "The Church is an obstacle to fulfilling the human rights aspirations of Jamaicans".
During his opening presentation and responses to questions, Dr West repeatedly emphasised the point of objective truth and objective morality to which sections of the audience audibly responded with derision.
Seemingly for a number of the members of the audience — presumably mostly UWI students and lecturers — objective truth and objective morality were objectionable ideas.
Apparently, the paradox of their position never dawned on them. This was a debate of a moot — a values-laden truth — claim that needed arbitration via debate in a university lecture theatre.
These were largely students reading for degrees in academic disciplines where truth-claims and moral categories abound. If truth and morality are not objective what's the point of a debate or of pursuing a university degree?
Forget for the moment the self-refuting nature of the view "objective truth does not exist". What's the point of a court case if truth is not objective and therefore possibly discoverable? Why conduct scientific experiments to test hypotheses if objective truth does not exist? And how does a historian, anthropologist or anybody decide fact from fiction minus objective truth as a yardstick?
Minus objective morality, how do we resolve moral conflicts interpersonally, nationally and internationally?
I confess that, at one point during the debate, I said something to myself in disgust which is too embarrassing to write here.
When students — the current and future leaders in society — despair of objective truth and morality we are in a very sorry state. We have at once an intellectual and moral tragedy.
Small wonder then the uncritical popularity of the "as you like it" outlook.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz2b6b0Km00
Clinton CHISHOLM
Monday, July 29, 2013
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz2b6bD6wmn
On Friday, June 30, atheists Lloyd D'Aguilar and Javed Jaghai, engaged Dr Wayne West and myself in a debate at the UWI's N1 lecture theatre with the moot, "The Church is an obstacle to fulfilling the human rights aspirations of Jamaicans".
During his opening presentation and responses to questions, Dr West repeatedly emphasised the point of objective truth and objective morality to which sections of the audience audibly responded with derision.
Seemingly for a number of the members of the audience — presumably mostly UWI students and lecturers — objective truth and objective morality were objectionable ideas.
Apparently, the paradox of their position never dawned on them. This was a debate of a moot — a values-laden truth — claim that needed arbitration via debate in a university lecture theatre.
These were largely students reading for degrees in academic disciplines where truth-claims and moral categories abound. If truth and morality are not objective what's the point of a debate or of pursuing a university degree?
Forget for the moment the self-refuting nature of the view "objective truth does not exist". What's the point of a court case if truth is not objective and therefore possibly discoverable? Why conduct scientific experiments to test hypotheses if objective truth does not exist? And how does a historian, anthropologist or anybody decide fact from fiction minus objective truth as a yardstick?
Minus objective morality, how do we resolve moral conflicts interpersonally, nationally and internationally?
I confess that, at one point during the debate, I said something to myself in disgust which is too embarrassing to write here.
When students — the current and future leaders in society — despair of objective truth and morality we are in a very sorry state. We have at once an intellectual and moral tragedy.
Small wonder then the uncritical popularity of the "as you like it" outlook.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz2b6b0Km00