Truth, strike two

[ciphergoth]

Thanks for some interesting and surprising responses to the JFK question. At the risk of creating more heat than light, let me try another example, one that I think might be a little less comfortable to be neutral about.

It seems that many people believe that on the morning of September 11, 2001, four thousand or more Israelis who were working at the World Trade Center did not show up for work.

Are those people wrong?

(Update: amended as per ajva's caveat)

Comments

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

I think one can reasonably read "philosophers" as referring to those of the present day, rather than all philosophers throughout history. However there are several philosophical positions which are criticised today on the grounds that they imply morally repellent things; some say this about determinism, a charge I'm happy to defend it against.

[badmagic.livejournal.com]

I think there's a difference between "all philosophers throughout history" and someone whose writings western philosophy is founded on.

If that's the case, though, he's still wrong. In the modern day, you have the radial deconstructions, who'll tell you everything is subjective, including "a = a," and the philosophers that the US State Department hires to consider questions like "what grants a state legitimacy in the eyes of the governed?" which can't be separated from emotional issues.