[ExI] The atoms red herring. =|

[Damien Broderick]

On 11/16/2010 4:27 PM, Jeff Davis wrote:

>> ... is mute on metaphysical issues...
>
> Metaphysical?!!  Translation:  Oooga booga superstition. Dragons,
> demons. devils, angels, ghosts, and goblins.

No, Jeff, no. That's not what "metaphysical" means (and I assume Alan 
means it correctly). That's as bad an error as the frequently heard gibe 
"I'm not interested in *semantics*" as if "semantics" means game-playing 
obfuscation rather than "how strings of signifiers *mean*." It's as bad 
an error as supposing that "ideology" means "Marxism." Every assertion, 
every model of reality, is metaphysically framed--that is, derives from 
or implies some contestable position concerning the being, the entia, of 
what the words or model represent.

It's always risky citing Wikipedia, but this has some useful background 
on the Aristotelian origin of the term and the way it got screwed up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics

Max might care to throw in some philosophy?

Damien Broderick