okay, enough destructive thought, how about some constructive thought. i am clear that faith is not the way to go; how does logic bring us forward in the search for truth? i can reason three possible worldviews:
1) there is no god. we are only stardust, no more no less. we are merely an incredibly complex collection of atoms, interacting to create human life. what makes us special? well, perhaps the question is: what if were not special? are we so egoistic as to think that the human race is a strange, wonderful, creation? maybe the only thing we can do is muddle through life making as much sense of it as we can. morality is built on our daily experiences of what is good, what is bad, not on some higher power. a kind of hobbesian 'state of nature'. (if i got that hobbes bit wrong forgive me, PS lectures are on freaking fri afternoons
2) there is some kind of 'first mover'. a divine being that, while not a personal entity, is a powerful entity that gave us life in the first place. a force that made life special, a force that gave the universe its staggering complexity. something like the star wars notion of 'the force'. yes, i mean that, dont roll your eyes!
3) there is a personal, benevolent, omnipotent god. like the god of the bible or the koran. a god who created humanity and the universe, a god who takes immense personal interest in humanity, a god who cares for humanity, a god who loves us, and desires to be loved.
maybe another good approach to take would be to examine each religion logically. at this point im too shack to go and list out.
Friday, November 5, 2010
the deficient understanding of faith
ive been in some discussions recently, where people have claimed that faith is in our physical domain and that we need faith to believe in everything we do daily.
for example, we need faith in the air we breathe, because we cannot see it or feel it but we know it is there. or we may not understand everything about how a car works, but we have faith that it will bring us where we want to go.
but i honestly dont buy this. we know there is air because it is a scientific theory, proven by fact. our belief in air is rooted in what we can hypothesize, test, prove. air is a theory that has stood the test of experiments, of logic. and hence air is the best explanation for why we live; there is no better proven theory. most people's belief in religion, on the other hand, is not rooted in the senses. it is rooted on the idea that god is unknowable by the senses and hence that they need to take a jump into the darkness. the leap of faith is so called because it is exactly that - a leap. a leap that contravenes logic.
likewise, we know that that is a car because we can see, feel, touch it. it has driven us to work before, it will again. the arguments on air and the car have a proper premise. that is, the premise of the logical process. it is important to make this distinction on what faith is, on how utterly ungrounded the biblical notion of faith is.
let us dispense with faith. everything one does should have a premise. i believe in air because it is a scientifically proven notion. i believe in my car because i (roughly) know how it works, because it logically follows that if you ignite petrol to work cylinders to turn wheels, you will be able to drive. i would not, for example, jump off a cliff, because i know that there is no good premise for it.
that is the difference between faith and belief. belief is a conclusion made with adequate consideration for a premise. faith is a conclusion based on a decision to avoid a premise. faith is fallacious. if you would not do anything in everyday life that is fallacious, why would you do he same for religion? neither is the bible a solid premise; saying "i believe in god because i believe in god's word: the bible", is a fallacy of begging the question/circular logic.
therefore let us base our belief in religion on a solid premise.
one thing you might have thought of at this point is that the conclusion of logic as the ultimate basis for truth is itself not based on a premise. well, its all we have. its the best, the only way we make sense of everything in the world. rationalism and empiricism are grounded in the here and now.
for example, we need faith in the air we breathe, because we cannot see it or feel it but we know it is there. or we may not understand everything about how a car works, but we have faith that it will bring us where we want to go.
but i honestly dont buy this. we know there is air because it is a scientific theory, proven by fact. our belief in air is rooted in what we can hypothesize, test, prove. air is a theory that has stood the test of experiments, of logic. and hence air is the best explanation for why we live; there is no better proven theory. most people's belief in religion, on the other hand, is not rooted in the senses. it is rooted on the idea that god is unknowable by the senses and hence that they need to take a jump into the darkness. the leap of faith is so called because it is exactly that - a leap. a leap that contravenes logic.
likewise, we know that that is a car because we can see, feel, touch it. it has driven us to work before, it will again. the arguments on air and the car have a proper premise. that is, the premise of the logical process. it is important to make this distinction on what faith is, on how utterly ungrounded the biblical notion of faith is.
let us dispense with faith. everything one does should have a premise. i believe in air because it is a scientifically proven notion. i believe in my car because i (roughly) know how it works, because it logically follows that if you ignite petrol to work cylinders to turn wheels, you will be able to drive. i would not, for example, jump off a cliff, because i know that there is no good premise for it.
that is the difference between faith and belief. belief is a conclusion made with adequate consideration for a premise. faith is a conclusion based on a decision to avoid a premise. faith is fallacious. if you would not do anything in everyday life that is fallacious, why would you do he same for religion? neither is the bible a solid premise; saying "i believe in god because i believe in god's word: the bible", is a fallacy of begging the question/circular logic.
therefore let us base our belief in religion on a solid premise.
one thing you might have thought of at this point is that the conclusion of logic as the ultimate basis for truth is itself not based on a premise. well, its all we have. its the best, the only way we make sense of everything in the world. rationalism and empiricism are grounded in the here and now.
is it really important?
is the whole question of a god really important? why invest time and effort in searching for the Truth when you could be spending your time enriching the rest of humanity? isnt it more important to do good than to philosophize on morality? are you truly being moral?
the answer, to me, is that the search for Truth is ultimately the standard we set for the importance of anything in the world. whatever we do in the world, whether it is moral or not, whether it is fruitful or not, is entirely predicated in the first place on some notion of morality. thats why the search for some sense of morality cannot be abandoned; this sense of morality drives everything in the world that we think of as right or wrong.
YES, doing good is important. we need to think of it as a need. but ultimately what drives our sense of 'good' can only be reached through a thorough examination of the facts.
the answer, to me, is that the search for Truth is ultimately the standard we set for the importance of anything in the world. whatever we do in the world, whether it is moral or not, whether it is fruitful or not, is entirely predicated in the first place on some notion of morality. thats why the search for some sense of morality cannot be abandoned; this sense of morality drives everything in the world that we think of as right or wrong.
YES, doing good is important. we need to think of it as a need. but ultimately what drives our sense of 'good' can only be reached through a thorough examination of the facts.
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