[lit-ideas] Re: Popper and Impopper
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 09:33:17 -0400 (EDT)
I think the lexicon that has popper and impopper also has grice and
ungriceful.
A commentary on McEvoy and thanks to Omar K. for the quote from the
regular Popper (cfr. 'the regular Grice')
In a message dated 10/21/2013 8:03:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx starts by using some of the words employed in the
definition of 'popper' (adj.) -- antonym: 'impopper').
McEvoy:
"There is a high moral seriousness in Popper's work in so far as his work
bears on moral, social and political philosophy; one of his passages runs
that humankind has created many new worlds, including the world of art and
the world of music and the world of science, but the most important of these
new worlds is the world of morals and of ethical demands."
Where perhaps he should expand on 'important'. Someone once said that two
words that should be avoided in polite conversation are 'relevant' and
'important' -- I would add 'swing'.
---
McEvoy continues:
"OTOH, [Popper] thought many of our ethical mistakes arise from a
misguided moralism (as opposed to our individual foibles and shortcomings in
living
up to our standards) - particularly in the field of political and social
philosophy where misguided moralism can lead us by the nose into all kinds
of dangerous and ethically wrong commitments."
Part of this is perhaps Popper's inability to focus on Hare. He would
dismiss Hare as 'Oxonian'. But Hare, and for that matter, Nowell-Smith (another
Oxonian moral philosopher) would NEVER use 'moralist'. A philosopher is not
a moralist, but a meta-ethical student. The philosopher is concerned with
the _language_ of ethics, not with moralising.
McEvoy:
"[Popper] thought it very difficult to write on moral philosophy without
merely giving off "hot air" and that the most important kind of moral
discussion typically concerns not generalities of moral philosophy but
practical
moral problems. OTOH, his own philosophical arguments for indeterminism,
rationality based on critical discussion, and the 'objective' or World 3
status of 'knowledge', are in defence of humans as having sufficient freedom
and
intelligence to be moral beings."
This is correct, and I would say neo-Kantian (as Popper is often seen).
Similar arguments are offered by Grice who had to lecture proffesionally on
Kant for years (notably at UC/Berkeley) -- and focusing on freedom as a
requirement for the moral "I".
---
McEvoy continues:
"Some might say [Popper's] own moral views clouded some of his
philosophical judgments to a point where these are misguided"
McEvoy goes on to provide illustrations:
Illustration I:
Hegel:
"[Popper's] view that Hegel was an insipid charlatan meant he was unable to
give Hegel a more charitable reading than as a historicist precursor of
Fascism."
I would distinguish between Fascism, which I see as an Italian thing -- and
have Croce as a precursor, and Nazism, which I se as a German thing, and
which has Hegel and Nietzsche as precursors. On the other hand is
neo-Elizabethianism, which has Shakespeare as a precursor.
Illustration 2:
Marx:
"[Popper's] view that Marx was an essentially moral man devoted to
enlarging human freedom meant he was far too charitable in his reading of
Marxist
philosophy."
I think there is a lot of sympathy on Popper's part towards Marx giving
that they shared a lot of background --both were European who emigrated to
London, etc. I would not be surprised if they frequented the same pubs, etc.
----
Illutration 3:
Heidegger:
"[Popper] quite seriously dismisses Heidegger's philosophy because Heide
[sic] is someone who should be simply blackballed for his ethical failings."
This seems to equivocate between Heidegger the writer and Heidegger the
man. Similarly, when Beniamino Gigli was asked, "So you are a tenor". He would
respond: "I'm not a tenor; I'm a man -- who happens to have a tenor
voice." (Cfr. mutatis mutandis: "I'm not a philosopher, I'm a man" -- versus
the
incongruous: "I'm not a man" (as said by a man), "I'm a philosopher"). But
I can see Popper's black-ballings.
---
McEvoy goes on to provide a quote from his favourite Popperian exegesis
author:
"Another strand of criticism, well conveyed by Bryan Magee, is that in some
practical political matters Popper could be blinded by morals - for
example, in Popper's belief that the Britain ought to militarily resist the
Argentinian occupation of the Falklands - though others might say Popper was
not
blinded but merely had views on responding to the acts of military
dictatorships that were formed in the crucible of the rise of Nazism and
Communism
and the resulting World War - (to use the demotic) that force is "the only
language they understand"".
This was the time that Berkoff was writing "Sink the Belgrano!" -- an
infamous popular play in the London of Popper and McEvoy.
McEvoy concludes his interesting post:
"[Popper] is capable of combining high moral seriousness with impopper
humour: not many philosophers would devote a footnote entirely to the
following: fn.8 to "The Autonomy of Sociology" - "I wish to apologize to the
Kantians for mentioning them in the same breath as the Hegelians" -- which
IMPLICATES, "and I wish to insult the Hegelians in so doing".
Helm would perhaps note that while 'breath' belongs to 'speech', it is used
by Popper as applied to books. (This in connection with Helm's earlier
mentioning of an author, in a passage as meant to refer to his forthcoming
audio version of the book, who said that "I shall be speaking a lot about this
in the future" -- in different, paused breaths, I would add).
(Popper must be using 'breath' metaphorically).
---
Cheers,
Speranza
http://www.philosophicallexicon.com/
popper, adj. Exhibiting great moral seriousness; impopper, frivolous.
grice, n. Conceptual intricacy. "His examination of Hume is distinguished
by erudition and grice." Hence, griceful, adj. and griceless, adj. "An
obvious and griceless polemic." pl. grouse: A multiplicity of grice,
fragmenting
into great details, often in reply to an original grice note.
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