In Nietzsche's The Antichrist, we may see an example of how the first duties subtly subvert the cynical, nihilistic hyperskepticism of our day:
I shall go back a bit, and tell you the authentic history of Christianity.—The very word “Christianity” is a misunderstanding—at bottom there was only one Christian, and he died on the cross. The “Gospels” died on the cross.
(It goes downhill, from there. [You may wish to compare here.])
Notice, how he claims to give "the authentic history"? How he insists that, 1900 years later, he understood Christianity better than the apostles and Evangelists, with their "misunderstanding"? Presumably, due to his skepticism? How, he boldly tries to assert as startling fact that the Gospels "died" when Jesus was crucified? How he uses snide scare quotes to dismiss the Gospels? And so forth? Snide rhetorical stunt after snide rhetorical stunt, ad nauseam?
Yes, we here see how not even a genius level hyper-skeptic like Nietzsche cannot but appeal to our known, binding duties to truth, right reason, warrant, etc. They truly are the branch on which we are all sitting, foundational and self-evident. As such, they then subtly subvert the attempt to cynically dismiss with a barely veiled slandering sneer. (A habit that has become all too common.)
Yes, we are back at the first principles (and duties) of reason, without which we cannot take even the first steps in rational thought, much less speech or argument:
We can then readily see how these same first principles and duties subvert similar fashionable attempts to reduce knowledge to opinion, virtues and values to indoctrination, even our own fact of coming in two sexes determined by XX and XY genes, to dozens of made-up genders, or to rewrite what marriage is, or justice, or inconvenient facts of history as we please. And no, rack notwithstanding, 2 + 2 is not reducible to whatever the party wants at the moment. All such are -- inadvertently -- forever exposed by Stalin's propagandists:
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| And yes, Yezhov, was also executed -- after he had led much of Stalin's infamous Purge. (He was head of the NKVD.) Cf other cases |
Instead, let us never forget:
untruth, is -- and ever was -- the foundation of injustice.
So, we call to the first duties, as a beginning to return to civilisational sanity. END
