>
> Hi Hugh, my apologies.
>
> The perils of virtual communication!
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
> "All those who say truth does not exist for me are simple minded" (Foucault)
>
>
> Colin Wight
> Department of International Politics
> University of Wales, Aberystwyth
> Aberystwyth
> SY23 3DA
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
This quote needs to be broken down a little to reveal its meaning. I do not
think Foucault is speaking of transcendental truth in a
moral or philosophical sense. Surely "truth" exists, it functions
as such in any given setting, but this is not absolute truth, although
it may function as such. So "truth" does exist for Foucualt, but not
absolute truth in a moral sense. Foucualt states that he does not deny all
verifiable truth (such things as the sun rises every morning), but he denies
the absolute truth of morality, philosophy and most of social life as being
"the" truth, it only functions as such. If one simply says that truth does not exist (we are all free to do our own thing), this is indeed simple minded, in
that one is not paying attention to the very real truth effects that result
from the existence of social truths (quite Nietzschean in this regard).
Greg Coolidge
Univ., of Calif., Riverside
Dept. of Political Science
> Hi Hugh, my apologies.
>
> The perils of virtual communication!
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
> "All those who say truth does not exist for me are simple minded" (Foucault)
>
>
> Colin Wight
> Department of International Politics
> University of Wales, Aberystwyth
> Aberystwyth
> SY23 3DA
>
> --------------------------------------------------------
This quote needs to be broken down a little to reveal its meaning. I do not
think Foucault is speaking of transcendental truth in a
moral or philosophical sense. Surely "truth" exists, it functions
as such in any given setting, but this is not absolute truth, although
it may function as such. So "truth" does exist for Foucualt, but not
absolute truth in a moral sense. Foucualt states that he does not deny all
verifiable truth (such things as the sun rises every morning), but he denies
the absolute truth of morality, philosophy and most of social life as being
"the" truth, it only functions as such. If one simply says that truth does not exist (we are all free to do our own thing), this is indeed simple minded, in
that one is not paying attention to the very real truth effects that result
from the existence of social truths (quite Nietzschean in this regard).
Greg Coolidge
Univ., of Calif., Riverside
Dept. of Political Science