Imagine if I sat down now – in 2019 – and wrote a biography and religious manifesto based on folktales about the supposed events and statements during the life of some sort of mystic or holy man who'd lived in, say, Uzbekistan in the late 1970s... four decades ago.
Imagine if this long-dead man from this backwater of the Soviet empire had not written a single word and nothing had been written about him while he was alive, and I'd never met him, and I’d never met anyone who'd met him.
Imagine if there was no internet, no books about him, no TV clips, no newspapers, no paintings, no sketches, no sources at all, and the Soviet Union had no information about him, and the Ubeki regional government had no information about him, nothing at all.
Imagine if I just went ahead and wrote about him anyway and the unverifiable final version of my book [which people like you would revere in the future] would not be nailed down and declared finished until roughly the year 2320.
Imagine that book being passed through the hands of countless unknown persons with a vested interest in the cult of personality my book was going to be based on and that they were constructing and that was being interwoven with political interests and power.
Now, wouldn't that 40 year difference in ‘age’ between the time of the events in question (1979) and the time when my written version of those events was produced (2019) ~ wouldn’t it give pause for thought for people with a genuine interest in history - and in the veracity of a historical account of an Uzbeki man not even well know in his own time assuming he even existed?
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@fmf saidYou’d be lucky to get 5 followers.
Imagine if I sat down now – in 2019 – and wrote a biography and religious manifesto based on folktales about the supposed events and statements during the life of some sort of mystic or holy man who'd lived in, say, Uzbekistan in the late 1970s... four decades ago.
Imagine if this long-dead man from this backwater of the Soviet empire had not written a single word and nothing ...[text shortened]... f a historical account of an Uzbeki man not even well know in his own time assuming he even existed?
@dj2becker saidThis thought experiment is not about argumentum ad populum.
You’d be lucky to get 5 followers.
@dj2becker saidI know exactly what my thought experiment is intended to encourage scrutiny of. But I don't see how it is a "strawman". I haven't misrepresented anyone's stance. I have simply transplanted circumstances to a different timeframe to see what light it sheds on the credibility of what was produced in those circumstances.
You know exactly what your thought experiment is implying.
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@fmf saidThe difference of course is that your thought experiment might generate 5 followers if you’re lucky because it’s missing a supernatural element.
I know exactly what my thought experiment is intended to encourage scrutiny of. But I don't see how it is a "strawman". I haven't misrepresented anyone's stance. I have simply transplanted circumstances to a different timeframe to see what light it sheds on the credibility of what was produced in those circumstances.
@dj2becker saidBut this thought experiment is not about argumentum as populum, and you can assume the "I" in the OP is ascribing "supernatural elements" to the 'events and statements during the life of some sort of mystic or holy man' and so can you if you personally want to.
The difference of course is that your thought experiment might generate 5 followers if you’re lucky because you’re missing a supernatural element.
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@fmf saidThe difference of course is that the Bible is one of the most reliable historical texts and your thought experiment isn’t.
But this thought experiment is not about argumentum as populum, and you can assume the "I" in the OP is ascribing "supernatural elements" to the 'events and statements during the life of some sort of mystic or holy man' and so can you if you personally want to.
@dj2becker saidMy thought experiment does not purport to be a historical text, as such, although the account mentioned in the OP would be full of historically accurate facts about Uzbekistan and about the Soviet sphere of influence.
The difference of course is that the Bible is one of the most reliable historical texts and your thought experiment isn’t.
The thought experiment is instead a contemplation on 'circumstances' and 'reliability'. But your opinion is noted, nevertheless. Thank you.
@fmf saidNow imagine that this Uzbeki man was actually the Son of God in the flesh. How might the scenario you imagine be any different?
Imagine if I sat down now – in 2019 – and wrote a biography and religious manifesto based on folktales about the supposed events and statements during the life of some sort of mystic or holy man who'd lived in, say, Uzbekistan in the late 1970s... four decades ago.
Imagine if this long-dead man from this backwater of the Soviet empire had not written a single word and nothing ...[text shortened]... f a historical account of an Uzbeki man not even well know in his own time assuming he even existed?
@suzianne saidI don't see how it would be much different. The thought experiment is about my decades-later writing being the only evidence that the Uzbeki man was the special holy figure that I claim him to be.
Now imagine that this Uzbeki man was actually the Son of God in the flesh. How might the scenario you imagine be any different?
@fmf saidthis isn't a parallel at all! Christ had an entire established community around him and the Gospels were passed orally during the preceding decades. CHurches were established from Jerusalem to Rome and beyond, all telling the spoken word of the Gospel.
Imagine if I sat down now – in 2019 – and wrote a biography and religious manifesto based on folktales about the supposed events and statements during the life of some sort of mystic or holy man who'd lived in, say, Uzbekistan in the late 1970s... four decades ago.
Imagine if this long-dead man from this backwater of the Soviet empire had not written a single word and nothing ...[text shortened]... f a historical account of an Uzbeki man not even well know in his own time assuming he even existed?
... Not to mention, none of the tech that you mention here existed back then.
This is sloppy and not a real parallel.