Re: [Fwd: virus: Religion & Logic]

Reed Konsler (konsler@ascat.harvard.edu)
Sat, 20 Apr 1996 10:43:54 -0400


On Friday, April 19, 1:27am Ken Pantheists said:
Quote*****
I just get sensitive when I read "primitive" and "ignorant"
associated with a very human mode of expression. (this is not a personal
flame against John, but something I find in sciences in general) Comedy
and Tragedy are ancient greek religious rites. We participate in them
every time we plunk $8.50 down for movie ticket. Instead of ritualizing
the greek grape harvest we ritualize the oil industry, or the cold war.
Unquote*****

I think Stephen has been, in this and other posts pointing out something very
significant. A lot of what has been discusses so far is very formal and
centers around concepts of formal truth, optimization, efficiency, and
rationality.

However, I think we would all agree that many of the things we most "enjoy" in
life; those things which make us human as opposed to animal or machine are not
rigorously true, optimum, efficient, or rational. In many cases such things
are the very antithesis of these concepts. Look at Baroque art; efficient? I
think not.

And yet we enjoy these things anyway. Obviously, at some level, people make
the intentional decision to forgo formality and order; in the pursuit of
something which transcends direct experience. Such things are not logical, but
they are obviously inherently valuable...even the "Virian Virtues" include the
concept of "vision".

Creativity, fantasy, vision...I think these things are very important. In the
end, the human mind is more than a rational model of the world as it exists.
The human mind is an evaluating tool, and an engine of action. We take in the
substance of the universe; first to understand it, then control...and then we
imagine how we think it should be.

And we make it so.

It is important that in the process of trying to remove the negative aspects of
"religion" we do not at the same time cut out of ourselves the essential
component of spirituality. We are not logic machines, and our place in the
universe includes ideas which have no basis in what we know to be "the real
world"

But I liked watching "Star Wars" anyway. I even remember reading a post from
this group contremplating the use of parables to teach central ideas.

There is a reason that most universities still have colleges of Arts and
Sciences. The two are interrealted. Without each other, neither has meaning.

Reed Konsler
konsler@ascat.harvard.edu

"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've
seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me
believe there's one all-powerful force controlling everything. There's
no mystical energy field that controls my destiny." (Han Solo) STAR WARS