Elephantitis.

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_interzone.ucc.ie>
Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 03:05:45 +0100 (BST)


I suggest that Objectivitists have no real, pressing argument for their beliefs, on a game level or otherwise, to which V. S. Greene dispenses with the (now sadly commonplace on this list) discourtesies of the rhetorical "umm" and "err", and launches straight into:

> BUZZ!! Wrong, but thanks for playing.

And then pretty much makes my point for me.

> I, at least, feel that there should be an overall Truth that all the
> various mythic systems of Glorantha veiw in a different way.

But _why_? What does this belief actually "buy" anyone? Aside from assertions that they want/need such a thing (to a greater or lesser degree; some are happy that the Truth be "underlying"; others want it to have its foot on High Priests' windpipes), I've seen no particular case that it's desirable/necessary for any actual purpose.

The notorious "elephant" metaphor is harmless enough as such theories go, if taken in moderation, and may even be True, who knows? But only so long as one bears in mind that most Gloranthans are happy to believe in their Elephant's Trunk, or whatever, and will cheerfully impale you if you try and tell them heretical stuff about the Whole Elephant or The Accursed Foot Worshipping People; and that there's no way on Glorantha to prove whether there's One Elephant, Several Elephants, or No Elephant at all.

The only Gloranthans to believe in this sort of stuff are: the God Learners, who found a Wooly Mammoth and decided it'd look much better after a shave and a severe tusk-trim; and assorted Mystics and Henotheists, who believe there really is only _One_ Elephant (and not one Storm Elephant, one Sun Elephant, etc, as the Objectivists generally seem to think), that each and every divine manifestation is a Mask of the one divine world, and other such warm and fuzzy notions. And these are the very people for whom religious experience is the most Trancendental, and the least Manifest, which hardly augers well for those who want Irrefutable Proof of such notions.

And a bonus question: if there's an objective mythic reality, what is it? I fancy the quickest way to "settle" this debate would be to take all the paid-up Objectivists and lock them up in a room together, with no wishy-washy commie liberal subversive subjectivist types to confuse them, and only let them out once they'd agreed on what this hypothetical One Truth actually was. (For similar reasons, I'm even as we speak planning a World Conference on Absolute Morality.)

Relatively reasonably,
Alex.


End of Glorantha Digest V4 #406


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