Welcome to Phlaw

The website where no matter where you go, you don't know where you are.

This site contains the teachings and philosophy of Phlaw, guru to the Knights of the Spectrum Round. Don't expect wisdom. These teachings only make sense if they don't.

The Paradoxical Fundamentals of Phlawism:

Phlawism is based on the assumption that the world is fundamentally "phlawed" (symbolized by the mis-spelling of "flaw"). Human reasoning, understanding, social relations, truth, intellect, physics, and so on are wrought with fundamental uncertainty, error, inconsistency, tension, and irreconcilable incompleteness. One can view Goedel's theorem as an example of this kind of fundamental limitation of our intellect. Phlawism is post-modern. It rejects modernistic and wholistic philosophies and arguments that attempt to understand the world in a systematic and unified manner because Phlawism assumes that goal is fundamentally implausible and useless. Moreover, Phlawism rejects it's own attempt to discredit modernism, and ironically, accepts that as a philosophy it has no claim to truth or practicality. Accepting, as organisms in an environment, we should not seek to make more sense than is sufficient to find our way around and live as happily as possible with the understanding that our intellect is not capable of doing what it seeks to do. While the goal of Phlawism is ultimately to make more meaning, it is situated within the recognition that the enterprise of Phlawism can not, paradoxically, sustain fundamental tenets. It seeks what Sir Karl Popper considers to be goal of "scientific" theories, to ultimately lead to it's own demise. Phlawism resonates with Taoist beliefs while rejecting the very basis of Taoism -- that there is a Tao of which we cannot know. In other words, "We don't even know what it is of which we don't know." Just because you're happy with your beliefs, doesn't mean we should be. If east is west, then north is south, so don't fool yourself just because it makes you feel better, unless you just want to feel better. Phlawism is not existentialism, although it tends to appreciate the total lack of basis for any human action whatsoever implied by existentialists. But we need not despair that the world is phlawed. Get over it, and go play golf.

/public/users/dunlapd/phlaw/index.html Login | Web Editor | Full Editor
Last modified 8/12/04 10:15 AM by dunlapd (history)
Site contents