Posted by madison88 on September 8, 2002, at 19:23:15
In reply to The 10,000,000 Dollar Question, posted by fachad on September 8, 2002, at 1:31:39
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> I specialized in Epistemology, which is the branch of philosophy that addresses how we know what we know, what knowledge is, what truth is, and how you distinguish truth from falsehood. In the end, I concluded that there is no way to choose one faith over another based on empirical evidence or rational analysis. So any choice is purely arbitrary.I am not sure a choice can be completely arbitrary because there always is a gut level reaction involved. Also, the nature of truth is a bit cloudy for me. For there to be truth and falsehood there must exist something that dictates it, usaully which takes the form of God. How can you evaluate truth outside of a religious system? Perhaps i am confusing the terms with good and evil.
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> This is great, as long as people keep that in mind. The problem is when people treat religious doctrines like they were literally true.
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So what happens when they do declare their doctrines true? Do we not have a right to challenge such beliefs? Does it not impede the religious rights of others to have someone say that only their way is the right way?
> I honestly don't see how anyone can seriously consider this question, with an open mind and true self honesty, and come out anything other than agnostic. That's not to say they won't have faith or spirituality - just that they won't insist that it's the "only true religion".
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But if you conclude that you don't know something to be true, it doesn't mean that you have to believe that it is false. Again, the categories of truth and falsehood seem so artificial to me. When we impose the question of validity or invalidity on a system that refuses to conform ot such notions, we will certainly get an answer, but it may not accurately describe the system.For example, suppose you are trying to determine whether nature or nurture contributes to personality development. You can't say yes it is either b/c there is always some aspect of the other's influence. It is both nature and nurture. You can neither prove both false, both true, or one false and the other true. Your truth and falsehood indicator breaks down. So the answer is you don't know.
Spirituality seems to work the same way as a complex system. Yes, spirituality helps people. No, it is not the only thing that helps people. It seems like there is something to it, we just can't explain it yet. I think that agnostics have to have something to react against. I suppose thay are reacting against what they can't understand. For others of us, we have more freedom to go with our gut feelings. What are these things called gut feelings anyway? My head hurts. Bye.
poster:madison88
thread:882
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20020715/msgs/893.html