Nietzsche’s flaw and “ufology”
Nietzsche thought that the world (humanity) would proliferate
richly if ruled by a small class of superior beings (which comes to mind from a
Times Literary Supplement review of two books on religion in the April 17th
issue, Page 28).
Marcus Aurelius’ and Plato’s (Socrates actually)
“philosopher king” ideal presupposes Nietzsche’s formulation.
That is, philosophers and thinkers (Voltaire’s “enlightened
monarch”) like to think that an elite would be the best rulers of men (and
women).
The ideal is flawed by the “fact” that elites are often
tainted by indiscretions and immoralities just as non-elites are. (See Paul
Johnson’s “Intellectuals” for examples.)
And now we come to the UFO community or the practitioners of
“ufology.”
What eventually sunk UFO UpDates was its caste system:
UpDates created an “elite class” that ruled the discussions there to the point
where nothing obtuse or creative was allowed to flourish; the elites wouldn’t
allow “outsiders” to harbor thoughts and ideas that differed from the
establishment’s mind-set, typically outlined by Jerry Clark, the one-time UFO
darling who now is quiet to the point of extinction.
Yet, with UpDates gone and almost forgotten, we still have a
few in the UFO community who think their views on UFOs sparkle and provide
insight of a theological kind. (Need I name them?)
One can find their offerings all over the place, in
commentaries, blogs, and web-sites, this one included, of course.
But these “elites” are as flawed as those wished for by Nietzsche
and his progenitors.
No one is without “sin” as Kevin Randle’s blog is currently
proving.
The UFO debate and “ufology” is a ramshackle debacle, still
controlled or attempted to be by those who think they have the keys to the UFO
kingdom.
Skeptics (UFO atheists of a kind) hold the “elite” feet to
the fire, as it were, but even the skeptics, themselves, are not pure as driven
snow. They, like all of us, are flawed and replete with “sin” – the sins of
hubris and anti-intellectualism (often).
But as French skeptic Gilles Fernandez notes (without
delineating exactly), “That’s ufology.”
And so it is.
RR
posted by RRRGroup at
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
5 Comments:
Karl Marx and Frederic Engels espoused a similar vision of "utopia" which for all practical purposes sounded great in theory, yet proved disastrous in real life.
The problem in ufology arises in the quashing of reasonable dissenting ideas.
This ritualistic "quashing" appears to come not from the main protagonist, but from his/her acolytes. These acolytes are beholding to the master. Thus we have a system of surfs holding down the party line.
In all fairness, the same can be true with we skeptics, but as to which group is more the dominant offender in this area is open to speculation or one's belief system.
If we all remove the false cloak of "intellectualism" then perhaps true debate can commence.
Rich, personally I enjoyed talking about Job rather than UFOs as we did the last few posts...but, that's me.
By
Tim Hebert, at Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Check the RRRGroup blog, Tim, where I will post some non-UFO stuff for you and my buddy, Parakletos.
RR
By
RRRGroup, at Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Famous last words like:"dont worry, he doesnt bite". Come to mind.
Maybe the stranger at the Pentagon can take over, with his Venusian buddies, and lead us to paradise...or Disneyland anyway.
I guess there might be more people than I imagine that might trade it all in for the protection of the supers, I certainly hope not..
By
Bob Koford, at Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Are you being unkind to UFO UPDATES?
As I remember it, all viewpoints were allowed, but it may be that a certain 'elite' tended to dominate the discussion. This may be because they presented a better kind of argument, not because they formed an elite class.
If you want a UFO 'elite' have a look at some of the MUFON proceedings of the 1980s, 1990s (and maybe even today). Their list of consultants was absolutely full of PhDs and other learned persons with impressive credentials in scientific fields. Few of them ever voiced their personal views on UFOs, but their names were highlighted in the MUFON proceedings, to lend credibility and authenticity to it all.
The same sort of thing happened with NICAP and its advisers, or so I believe.
And I shall not forget the 2-page credentials of a certain Dr Roger Wescott, a linguist, who initially supported the authenticity of the MJ-12 papers. Stan Friedman always quoted these credentials when debating MJ-12. In fact Wescott later recanted a bit (he was not actually an ET believer).
By
cda, at Thursday, April 30, 2015
CDA:
At UpDates, as you know, a core of "members" there did dominate the debates and discussions, shaming lesser lights into silence by ridicule and dismissal.
I had fun there, supplying nonsense and over-riding attempts to dismiss that nonsense, but others just signed off until only a remnant of the once heavy readership was a shadow of itself.
The persons who thought they were "elites" in the UFO field are no longer heard or remembered, just as many of us will be forgotten in the ensuing years.
UpDates turned into a snobby affair, beholden to hubristic creeps and wannabes.
And one can see that same thing happening elsewhere in UFO-land.
Kevin's blog, where you hang out, has a few cranks and know-nothings blowing steam and vapidity of a great kind.
I'm constantly surprised that you hang on there, debating with those dopes.
Your efforts continue to be futile, but I give you props for sticking to it, even though your efforts go nowhere.
Life is short, more so for some of us than others.
To throw away our last few years of life on and in discussions with asses baffles me.
RR
By
RRRGroup, at Thursday, April 30, 2015
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