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This is http://www.essayz.com/a9009293.htm Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words. {Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.} ========================================================== %REFLEXIVE SELF REFERENTIAL OBJECTIVE SCIENCE 900929 In his books "Mathamagical Themes" and "Godel, Escher, Bach" the author Douglas Hofstadter has explored many self-referential thoughts which merit careful consideration by people who have bought into the compulsive preoccupation with objectivity which characterizes scientists' sense of how they should behave and regard themselves. Scientists and non-scientists who think of themselves as needing to be always objective to avoid being biased about themselves are people who clearly need to give careful consideration to the broader perspectives which Hofstadter offers in non-objective considerations of reflexivity. Scientists and others who pretend to be able to be objective at all important times are clearly participating in collusive games of mutual self deception; games which are without doubt self-referential in violation of the self referential injunctions which they are trying to obey. They are dishonest in the manner of the alcoholic who says that at any time s/he could stop using alcohol; a self-referential game of mutual self deception with many attendant codependents. The compulsively objective persons are addicted to the ideals of objectivity which call upon them to avoid self-referential statements; yet the ideals of objectivity are themselves self-referential in violation of their own call. Godel's Theorem clearly shows that within the disciplined context of a mathematical system there may be meaningful statements which cannot be proven to be true or false while honoring the rules of the mathematical system. In a similar way it is no doubt meaningful to believe that within the compulsively objective systems of scientists there can be formulated meaningful statements which cannot be proven to be true or false, while still honoring the rules of the compulsively objective systems. The rules of objective systems call for objectivity at all times, and so reflexive statements cannot be proven to be true or false while honoring the systems. Thus statements about the value of the objective system cannot be proven to be true or false, without violating the rule that one must at all times be objective and avoid reflexivity because it is essentially non-objective. This leaves in doubt the value of objective scientific systems, even within the frame of reference of the objective systems themselves. Affirmations of value within objective systems are violations of the rules of the system. Any fair and meaningful discussion of the value of scientific systems must thus occur outside the framework of the scientific systems; within a framework within which the discussants can be secure and free to be vulnerable in open and honest dialogue with each other in self referential ways. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================