Читать книгу So They Say - Robert H. Mounce - Страница 6

Friedrich Nietzsche is often quoted as saying, “There are no facts, only interpretations.” The German philosopher is of such intellectual stature that we have no option but to pay attention to what he has to say. He is asking us to accept as a “fact” that there are no facts. But wait a minute. Isn’t he expecting us to accept that very assertion as a fact? Or is he saying that it is simply a true statement? But isn’t a true statement a fact? For the life of me I can’t see how you can do away with facts and then make a factual statement about what doesn’t exist.

There are undoubtedly the philosophically minded who can point out the fallacy of my inability to see his point — and your comments are welcomed. But for the time being my problem with the non-existence of reality remains. There are very few, if any, who can argue persuasively for a form of metaphysical nihilism that denies its own existence.

The Judeo-Christian world-view begins with a God who created the universe as we know it. We accept its existence because we can touch it, taste it, smell it, weigh it, etc. We consider its existence a fact, and so also the One who created it. Granted, we can interpret that fact in various ways, but our interpretation doesn’t alter the reality of the fact.

“So what,” you may say. And I can see your point. Most of us just don’t live in the lofty world of philosophical musing. However, with the “loss of reality” goes the loss of responsibility (there is no one to be responsible to) and civil life as we know it disintegrates. The end of that road is raw savagery. To deny reality is to remove the basis for all moral codes.