As Aware As I Possibly Can February 20, 2007
Posted by Resident Egoist in : Philosophy and Objectivism , trackbackI was stumbling around on the web when I came upon this most interesting YouTube video about con men (”Psychic” Uri Geller and “Faith Healer” Pastor Peter Popoff) and the man who handles them best: James Randi.
Randi’s exposition of pseudoscience, deception and dishonesty are simply masterful, but it is something he says that hit it most with me … so I transcribed it below:
Why People are so drawn to the irrational is something that has always puzzled me. I want to be, if I can, as sure of the world, the real world around me, as is possible. Now, you can only attain that to a certain degree, but I want the greatest degree of control.
I don’t — never — involve myself in narcotics of any kind; I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can.
That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I’m willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world … as close as I can get to it.
Unfortunately, the Kantian in Randi shows up in there, but the essence of what he says — “I want to be as aware as I possibly can” — is one of those healthier attitudes many of us could use. It reminds me of a passage from OPAR (p. 56):
The primary choice, according to Objectivism, the one that makes concpetual activity possible, is the choice to focus one’s consciousness.
[...]
“Focus” (in the conceptual realm) names a quality of purposeful alertness in a man’s mental state. “Focus” is the state of a goal-directed mind committed to attaining full awareness of reality.
Make sure you watch the whole video — and this one, too. They’re both hilarious, among other things.
Technorati Tags: Randi, James Randi, Uri Geller, Reason, Rationality, Pseudoscience, Peter Popoff, deception, magic, illusion
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