[Vision2020] Douglas Wilson's Rationale: Logos School {Rationalization in this case, not rationale}

[Ted Moffett]

Hello "Art Deco"

Thank you for responding to my opinion!

I agree with much of what you wrote!

Ted

>From: "Art Deco" <deco@moscow.com>
>To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
>CC: "Ted Moffett" <ted_moffett@hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Douglas Wilson's Rationale: Logos School 
>{Rationalization in this case, not rationale}
>Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 08:45:36 -0700
>
>Re: Remarks of Ted Moffett
>
>I agree that superstition plays an important role in many people's lives.
>Santa Claus, Mother Goose, and god(s) are examples.  Belief in soothing but
>unverifiable or false beliefs is a normal psychological defense mechanism.
>Those mechanisms become pathological, however, when the believer cannot
>distinguish fantasy from reality in the long term.  A common joke among 
>many
>is that the religious are those whose parents finally told them there is no
>Santa Claus, but forgot to tell them the same about god(s).
>
>Thousands of different gods are still worshiped today.  Some of the
>worshippers of these gods tenaciously hold that their alleged god is the
>only true one, etc.  The problem is that there is no way to unequivocally
>test to see which, if any, of these contradictory beliefs are true.
>
>I agree that rhetorically and strategically that to successfully challenge 
>a
>religious person's view point means discussing and showing their 
>fundamental
>assumptions improbable or contradictory.
>
>However, from a logical point of view, there is another way to skin a cat..
>The truth of  their fundamental assumptions can be challenged sometimes
>successfully by showing the absurd conclusions that follow from them.  If A
>implies B, then not B implies not A.  Unfortunately, logic and belief part
>ways when compartmentalization, rationalization, and other defense
>mechanisms enter into the picture.  This is true not only of religious but
>of most important to a person, strongly held, unverifiable (sometimes as in
>the case of love,
>for example, verifiable) beliefs.
>
>People may believe and express their beliefs freely.  Harm comes when they
>act on some of their fantasy beliefs and/or try to impose them on others.
>
>Thank you for responding to my opinion.
>
>

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