Truth and reality
Sir, — Twentieth century philosophies, or rather antiphilosophies, have brought confusion to our understand-: ing of knowledge. Herein lies a major source of our difficulties in morals, education, law, politics and Government. Until after World War 11, New Zealanders remained in their outlook and culture, in the nineteenth century. Right was right, truth in the objective sense really existed, end the division between fantasy and reality was clear. Not so today. Hegelian synthesis,
existentialism, linguistic analyses and positivism have destroyed the old certainties. What remains is a trillion facts devoid of meaning, and a science, silent on the whys and oughts, which reduces persons to a zero value and loses them in a maze of systems. Effective action requires soundly based knowledge, but in the context of today’s thinking we are coming to lack the categories of understanding necessary to deal with reality. —Yours, etc., G. A. LEICESTER. November 28, 1978.
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Press, 4 December 1978, Page 16
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153Truth and reality Press, 4 December 1978, Page 16
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