RE: virus: Scientists and Philosophers

Richard Brodie (richard@brodietech.com)
Wed, 10 Feb 1999 08:04:35 -0800

Bob Hartwig wrote:

[RB]
>3. Is it faith if you believe something without evidence, or do you have to
>believe something IN SPITE OF evidence?
[...]
>3. It's a difference of degree. Faith is more like not wanting to look at
>evidence; the issue is closed in other words.

<<I don't ask for evidence for things that appeal to my intuition or common sense. Is this faith?>>

I think faith is more conscious, like, I have faith in my ability to succeed and I'm not going to question it. The rest is just blindness, which we need a certain amount of or we'd be in "analysis paralysis" all day long.

<< By a certain definition of the word perhaps, but if so, the word becomes almost meaningless. It is overloaded. The same word is used to describe "this chair will hold me" and "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." By the way, do you see a qualitative difference between these phrases?>>

I don't believe in qualia.

<<Another question for you: After somebody sees evidence for a phenomenon, are they exercising faith when they believe that the phenomenon is real?>>

No... not faith.

Good questions.

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
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