No Things but in Ideas

Vaihinger began to develop a system of philosophy
he called the "philosophy of 'as if' ". In it he offered
a system of thought in which God and reality might
best be represented as paradigms. This was not to
say that either God or reality was any less certain
than anything else in the realm of man’s awareness,
but only that all matters confronting man might
best be regarded in hypothetical ways."
 
Dear Linguists, Fictionists, Transcendentalists, &
colleagues ATC                  (courses w/o borders series)
 
I assigned P for pass as mid-term grades, assuming
you are making your progress through the options,  
home-schooling, many of you; others: classroom
participating within  cinderblock and under
fluorescence.,
 
(Incidentally: the full point for attendance to the first half of
class—“life of the mind”  because you read and write  a response,
 mindfully—depends on writing and e-mailing me a response for
the hand out. Check the syllabus for the stipulations)
 
I will send out a “grade sheet” in a few weeks; the form
you fill out indicating options done, points accumulated,
grade earned.  It will be turned in with a portfolio of your
work by the end of the semester. I will read and respond
over break.
                          ***********
Consider or Ignore (more of my ongoing distinctions:
differences that make a difference)
 
    HAP
HOW IT IS              we can know only the Ways We
(we can’t know)         Talk about HAP: our various
                                           ways of talking   
 
                                ****
 
George Kelly (1964/1969) advocated adopting an
"as if" position towards knowledge. That is, he
encouraged people to try out different constructions
of events in order to see what might happen when
they act "as if" these constructions are so.
 
For many years even knowing better I have operated
AS-IF  students come to college in order to gain knowledge
and intellectual/affective freedom—you know: purpose,
coherence, confidence—college sucking them into the
noetic game the way mountain slopes educe a skier, oceans
seduce sailors, sidewalks, skateboarders:  starved for
learning like some  non-vegetarian hungers after
Whoppers & fries.
 
Courses galore.
Educational porn:
students snuffling up to texts for
turn-ons,  dumpster diving into
intellectual converse-action, papers
popping comparisons & contrasts,
teasing out patterns that connect:
eureka over and over again:  I GET IT!
we exclaim—epiphanic if not orgasmic
these academic  delights.  Or what’s a  
college for?
 
This is the way WE TALK—us in the business,
administrative, faculty-wise,  admissions: glory
days – we’re not for everyone and you probably
aren’t either   Four years of  learning-fix,
educational addiction  nourished,
nurtured.
 
Listen to any graduation speech  Or matriculation.
It’s AS-IF what I just said is how-it-is: love of
learning: erotic compulsive, obsessive.
 
It’s arguable that this is not the case. Basically:
take  the credit and run.— get your ticket punched. .
Walk across a stage to get  the  paper and move
from bubble & box into what  we call  real
whirl.  (No more pencils, no more books, no
 more teachers dirty looks. )
 
But I pretend as-if it IS the learning and IS.
the ideas, the subject-matter and topics of
course, mind  changing reconfiguration and
attitude adjustment going on holy smokes
and mirrors  o my damnit ouch  opps yes
Yes YES going on taking us  over the edge
toward boundaries yet unknown: stalwart
pioneering.)
 
Knowing better,
that’s how I pretend
as-if. knowing better I’m still acting as-if
this is the best game in town and everyone’s
here  to play  & screwem if they can’t take a
joke –let  em rip-off the system then, sleep in.
get away with murder. Not going to force the
issue: that would be a domestic violence worthy
of clothesline testimony.  That would be  bullying.
Institutionalized regimen of academic wedgies
Dis-empower mental  studies and leadership
programs.  I know better.

Like Kelly, Vaihinger did not believe
that human knowledge necessarily
 reflected objective reality.
 
Vaihinger stated:  "…the object of the
world of ideas as a whole is not the
 portrayal of reality –this would be an
utterly impossible task – but rather to
 provide us with an instrument for finding
 our way about more easily in the world."
 
How it is on the one hand.
How we talk about how-it-is.
on the other hand.