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2007-01-13 Home Front: Culture Wars

Fnord! Robert Anton Wilson 1932-2007

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Posted by anonymous5089 2007-01-13 09:37|| || Front Page|| [5 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 (from the Wiki)

Robert Anton Wilson or RAW (January 18, 1932 January 11, 2007) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher.

His writing, which often shows a sense of humor and optimism, is described by him as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations--to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models (maps) and no one model elevated to the Truth." And: "My goal is to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone, but agnosticism about everything."

RAW is also regarded as the founding philosophy behind Discordianism, and indirectly, The Church of the SubGenius.

In practice, what he advocated was a deep disrespect to organizations and individuals who expect and demand respect based on what they represent.

For this reason, his followers feel free to sarcastically attack religion, government, private groups and even organizations of skeptics who take themselves too seriously.

A small, fringe movement, the RAW-based philosophies experienced explosive growth with the advent of the Internet, which inherently serves as a medium for just this sort of sarcastic criticism.

Posted by Anonymoose 2007-01-13 10:09|| 2007-01-13 10:09|| Front Page Top

#2 Illuminatus was a wacky and paranoid book, but lots of fun.

I view it the same way I view a lot of Ayn Rand's stuff - it's not a place you want to end up in, but it's a necessary stop along the way.

Posted by no mo uro 2007-01-13 10:35|| 2007-01-13 10:35|| Front Page Top

#3 You okay Thoth?

Posted by Shipman 2007-01-13 11:01|| 2007-01-13 11:01|| Front Page Top

#4 "My goal is to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone, but agnosticism about everything."

it is funny that he has a following.

Posted by Glomoque Chavirt4829 2007-01-13 12:51|| 2007-01-13 12:51|| Front Page Top

#5 Um, agnosticism about everything? In other words, total ignorance?

Posted by Korora">Korora 2007-01-13 14:44|| 2007-01-13 14:44|| Front Page Top

#6 No, a slight doubt bout everything. Even purple penguins.

Posted by Shipman 2007-01-13 17:44|| 2007-01-13 17:44|| Front Page Top

#7 Why have faith in anything? You have to have trust, but faith just means you are gullible. You trust that a chair is safe to support your weight, because it looks safe to you; but you have no reason to believe somebody who says the chair is safe, just because they said so.

And faith gets even worse when it is not first person.

"Dave said that chair is okay to sit on."

"Somebody told Dave that a chair here is okay to sit on."

"It was once written that chairs here are safe."

"In the ancient past, a prophet foretold that someday there would be a good place to sit down around here. Or maybe that you shouldn't shave your duck. You shouldn't be too literal."

"But if you don't have faith that this chair is safe, then you are a heathen dog."

Posted by Anonymoose 2007-01-13 18:53|| 2007-01-13 18:53|| Front Page Top

23:45 RD
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23:33 RIcky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo)
23:28 Old Patriot
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22:56 RIcky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo)
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22:48 RD
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22:11 USN, ret.
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