Subject:     	 Re: Q. on Penrose arg: why new *physics*?
From:         	[email protected] (JRStern)
Date:         	1997/08/08
Message: 	5sdu8b$

On Thu, 07 Aug 1997 15:39:12 -0400, "Phil Roberts, Jr."
 wrote:
>5. The reason Evel Knievel jumped across the Snake River canyon is because 
>was was trying to maximize his sense of self worth made deficient by
>an increase in valuative objectivity within the species above and 
>beyond what is optimal for prudent behavior (Phil Roberts, Jr.).
>
>I think 5 is the obvious winner.  Obviously you're not buying it.  
>Explain please.

I think that there are explanations which exhaust the irrefutable data
without committing to any of the metaphysical issues you describe.  He
jumped for the bux, he gets bux this way because of a hundred earlier
occurrences in life, some of which may well have been like one of your
1-5.  Without being able to prove it false, I sure don't like #5,
which (if I understand it) suggests he did it primarily for the danger
because society shaped him thus, not for immediate reward.  Is
self-worth supposed to be identical to net financial worth?  I hope
not, but that can be read into #5.

And with that, I will absent myself from further participation in this
thread at this time.

Joshua Stern
[email protected]