Writes Jim Lloyd:

Good morning Lew,

One of the indicators I use for optimism about my day is how many of the articles on LRC I read [LRC is usually ahead of me when it comes to thought-provoking information] and lately it averages out to ~9+ of the twelve-thanks for that.

Today, there were a couple pieces [Edward Curtin’s essay concerning ‘The American Doll House was exceptional] regarding truth.  Because I recently found a seemingly unread copy of Manly Hall’s opus The Secret Teachings of All Ages for a whopping $2 at used book store in Boone IA,  I have been watching some of the presentations from the Philosophical Research Society, hosted on YouTube.

Last weekend I watched a lecture of sorts with the title “Facts and Fake News: Truth in the Digital Age” and while there were a couple mentions of Trump, the majority of the video outlines the search for A TRUTH since antiquity, referencing Plato and the Stoics.

The presenter (whose name I do not know) offered Plato’s Cave, the all too frequent conflation of “truth” & “meaning”, as well as the egotism & hypocrisy of social media as often used and the human desire to understand her/his reality, but only in a familiar context and avoiding information that contradicts it.

I was reminded of regular discussion I have with a former Neocon [my uncle, the anesthesiologist] where he talks about news and can’t understand why there I isn’t a Walter Kronkite to inform the people [that contention is another issue altogether].  My response, which he has grudgingly accepted but not internalized, is that people want validation rather than information as “public education” and college have discouraged people from any semblance of a scientific method in modern American life…even scientists, as he considers himself.

Before I prattle on any further about America as a culture of insecurity and fear, not to mention family dynamics, I want to offer a link to the presentation at PRS, titled Facts & Fake News: Truth in the Digital Age.

As always, thank you for your efforts.