RE: virus: Why people cling to faith

Richard Brodie (richard@brodietech.com)
Thu, 28 Jan 1999 00:07:23 -0800

Do you think Shakespeare used anything other than logic and reason to communicate? Mozart? The Beatles? Are they liars?

Richard Brodie richard@brodietech.com http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/ Author, "Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme" http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/votm.htm Free newsletter! Visit Meme Central at
http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/meme.htm

-----Original Message-----

From: owner-virus@lucifer.com [mailto:owner-virus@lucifer.com]On Behalf Of carlw
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 1999 11:21 PM To: virus@lucifer.com
Subject: RE: virus: Why people cling to faith

-----Original Message-----

From: owner-virus@lucifer.com [mailto:owner-virus@lucifer.com]On Behalf Of Marie Foster
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 1999 12:34 AM To: virus@lucifer.com
Subject: Re: virus: Why people cling to faith

Ok.. that is clearer and more in keeping with the principles of rational discussion. I also need to stick to doing what I told you all to do and that is
speaking for myself. I accept that faith is a part of me as is scepticism. Nor
do I have the talent to weigh it on any objective scale.

I only find it alarming that with everything else we could be talking about and
advancing, we always seem to come back to bashing others for what we perceive to
be a weakness in thinking. Perhaps you see it as mentally unbalanced for a
person
to defy logic to remain principled. While I may see it as silly, I prefer to
allow another the choice to live thier life as they see fit.

Sigh

That day that someone chooses to defy logic, you should cease discussion with them, as discussion is not possible in the absense of logic. Choosing to ignore reason means that you cannot have a meaningful discussion, as words then no longer are vehicles for meaning. It is only through logic and reason that we can establish meaning to ourselves, never mind the more complicated issues of shared meanings through which communication occurs. A person who abandon's logic and reason has no ability to hold discourse as these are fundamental to discourse. So if a person who is communicating claims to have abandoned logic and reason it can only mean that they are liars. Communicating with liars can be useful in information and game theory, but is seldom profitable in real life. As you know they are liars, they will never convince you of anything. Suspecting that you know that they are liars means that you will never convince them of anything. So you are best wasting time and effort.
Be rational and just walk away. There are more important windmills to tilt at....

TheHermit

Faith,n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.
Ambrose Bierce The Enlarged Devil's Dictionary.