Saturday, April 02, 2005

The Fr. Seraphim Show

The unreflective scientific specialist sees no need for any other kind of knowledge; occupied with the demands of his specialty, he has, perhaps, neither time nor inclination for "abstract" questions that inquire, for example, into the basic presuppositions of that specialty. If he is pressed, or if his mind spontaneously turns to such questions, the most obvious explanation is usually sufficient to satisfy his curiosity: all truth is empirical, all truth is relative.
Either statement, of course, is a self-contradiction. The first statement is itself not empirical at all, but metaphysical; the second is itself an absolute statement.

-From Nihilism

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is our misfortune that our faith is hindered by the short-sightedness of our reason--that spider, that catches the truth in the web of its judgments, its arguments and analogies. Faith embraces and sees suddenly, faith is the means of communication between one spirit and another, whilst reason is the means of communication between the spiritually sensual and even simply material: the first is the spirit and the latter the flesh.

--St. John of Kronstadt

Jacob Aleksander said...

Wow. Just so you know I responded-I have nothing to add.

Anonymous said...

nihilism leads to depression and insanity. I know from personal experience.
-Saje