Blindspots

I've been meaning to read Roy A. Sorensen's Blindspots, OUP 1988. I've had the book in my library for a good while. One of the occasions for my removing Blindspots from its dusty place on my shelves resides in a number of email discussions that I've had with a friend about politics and consistency (varieties of logical and pragmatic consistency and attendant epistemological considerations). The flyleaf of Sorensen's 456 page book has this riff, "Blindspots are consistent propositions that cannot be accepted by certain individuals or groups even though they might be true." Given all the ranting and shouting that goes on in these United States of America and how our public luminaries wouldn't know, and couldn't formulate, an argument (in the quasi-logical sense with premises and a conclusion) if their lives depended on their doing so; I've decided - against my will, as it were - to read Blindspots. After all too much sexy stuff like metaphysics, anti-aesthetics, and modal logic makes for a less than well rounded citizen.
     There is a confluence in play here though. My attention last evening was directed to Prof Cornel West's appearance on The Tavis Smiley show on Public Television. I must note that at the beginning of Tavis's program I was involved watching My Name is Earl on TV - a favorite program of mine. So I switched channels to hear what Prof West had to say.
     What both My Name is Earl and Prof West have to say is striking and important - what they both treat is how things are down here on the ground (Dr West's illuminating phrase). There are human beings who live in trailer parks, who don't have jobs, who don't have opportunities to have jobs, who don't have health insurance, whose only boot-straps for advancement are criminal activities or military service. Dr West in his remarks emphasized the boot-strapping of AIG et al. He emphasized President Obama's actual interests and concerns verses his progressive speech-making. He emphasized the President's blindspots and our one-party system with its blindspots. The Supreme Court has its blindspots too when it comes to cases concerning things down here on the ground - items not concerning big business.
     I suggested to my friend in my email that I wouldn't write about these matters in my blog - a blindspot on my part? So I'll stop here, for now.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_obama_deception_why_cornel_west_went_ballistic_20110516/
https://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_prophets_like_cornel_west_make_liberal_sell-outs_attack_20110523/?ln