[Vision2020] About Evidence

[Joe Campbell]

Philosophy is a discipline of which there is no end in sight, if the
end is an answer. All the more reason to study it -- and talk about it
on blogs -- I think. What do we accomplish? Maybe a better
understanding of each others' beliefs. I was a math major first and I
left math and joined philosophy precisely because I thought it was
better to study something that had no easy answers (easy if you can do
the math, at least). That to me is fun (though I can understand why
others think it is annoying). The best that we can do is to understand
and appreciate others' beliefs. We are unlikely to convince anyone of
anything they don't already believe -- at least when it comes to core,
philosophical beliefs. But understanding each others' beliefs is a
social good, I think. The end game isn't always a "winner." The end
game is understanding, appreciation, acceptance. You've already got
that, Scott, but not everyone does. That's why these discussions are
of value, in my (perhaps not so humble) opinion. Joe

On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 10:55 PM, Scott Dredge <scooterd408 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> *Like* as well.  No offense taken of course.  At most I think my belief
> system is <decline to state>.  I think it should really just not matter to
> anyone other than myself even though this frustrates to no end some now
> rifted friends that I have who are hell bent on 'saving souls'.
>
> Are we done with this whole thread of 'your religion is better than mine'?
> If not, can I simply just concede that Atheism is better than Theism?
> Otherwise, I just get the sinking feeling that we'll go round and around in
> circles with no end in sight on this topic.
>
> -Scott
>
>> Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:35:58 -0700
>
>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] About Evidence
>> From: philosopher.joe at gmail.com
>> To: chasuk at gmail.com
>> CC: scooterd408 at hotmail.com; vision2020 at moscow.com
>
>>
>> *Like*
>>
>> On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 10:29 PM, Chasuk <chasuk at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > You either believe in the supernatural, or you don't. If you believe
>> > in the supernatural, you either believe that it is part of the the
>> > "whole show," or you don't. You might be a pantheist, or you might
>> > not. Maybe you believe in a personal god or Gods, or maybe you don't.
>> > Maybe you are a deist. Maybe you believe that everything is an
>> > illusion. I don't know what you specifically believe, and -- no
>> > offense -- I'm not interested. However, outside of a few categories --
>> > and I'm not claiming to have included every category -- human belief
>> > systems are only unique in the same sense that Ben &
>> > Jerry's/Dreyer's/Baskin-Robbins/Häagen-Dazs each produce "unique"
>> > flavors of vanilla ice cream.
>> >
>> > Chas
>> >
>> >
>> > On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 10:11 PM, Scott Dredge <scooterd408 at hotmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >> In my opinion, each person has their own unique belief system which is
>> >> how
>> >> came to the 7 billion plus number. If you want to whittle that down to
>> >> something fewer for some reason, then be my guest. Can you give me even
>> >> a
>> >> shot in the dark guess of where my belief system might be categorized?
>> >> Atheist? Agnostic? Christian? Evolving? Wiccan? Does it really matter
>> >> one wit? Other? Scientologist? Complete Mystery? Satanic?
>> >>
>> >>> Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2012 21:28:06 -0700
>> >>
>> >>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] About Evidence
>> >>> From: chasuk at gmail.com
>> >>> To: lfalen at turbonet.com
>> >>> CC: scooterd408 at hotmail.com; art.deco.studios at gmail.com;
>> >>> vision2020 at moscow.com
>> >>
>> >>>
>> >>> There are not 7 billion different belief systems, or anywhere near
>> >>> that number. At best, there are a half dozen, regurgitated and
>> >>> recapitulated into a fistful of semi-unique varieties. And some
>> >>> beliefs are harmful. Some beliefs provide motivation to fly jets into
>> >>> tall buildings, and some convince parents to withhold medication to
>> >>> sick children. Some beliefs promote misogyny, racism, and homophobia.
>> >>> Not all beliefs are equal.
>> >
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