tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post3705075446440280252..comments2023-04-27T02:16:01.047-07:00Comments on Words Incorporated: Belief AgencyStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-23028355945759179002013-07-24T10:17:53.709-07:002013-07-24T10:17:53.709-07:00Your comment (especially the warm & fuzzy bit)...Your comment (especially the warm & fuzzy bit) reminds me of a quote from "Sophie's World," a novel on the history of philosophy.<br /><br />"A white rabbit is pulled out of a top hat. Because it is an extremely large rabbit, the trick takes many billions of years. All mortals are born at the very tip of the rabbit's fine hairs. where they are in a position to wonder at the impossibility of the trick. But as they grow older they work themselves even deeper into the fur. And there they stay. They become so comfortable they never risk crawling back up the fragile hairs again. Only philosophers embark on this perilous expedition to the outermost reaches of language and existence. Some of the fall off, but other cling on desperately and yell at the people nestling deep in the snug softness, stuffing themselves with delicious food and drink.<br /><br />"'Ladies and gentlemen,' they yell, 'we are floating in space!' but none of the people down there care.<br /><br />"'What a bunch of troublemakers!' they say. And they keep on chatting: Would you pass the butter, please? How much have our stocks risen today? What is the price of tomatoes? Have you heard that Princes Di is expecting again?"<br /><br />It is warm and fuzzy down there in the rabbit's fur, not questioning anything. You really took a big journey, Joe; not too many people go from nestling in the rabbit's fur to wandering the whole length of the rabbit!Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-12173479101712829682013-07-24T10:11:05.233-07:002013-07-24T10:11:05.233-07:00"The world is mutable, and will change around..."The world is mutable, and will change around you without consulting you in any way." Isn't it annoying, how it does that? If I was going to believe a reality into existence, I would definitely invent a world that consulted with me before going off and doing stuff.<br /><br />Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-76049228714789720162013-07-24T10:07:01.337-07:002013-07-24T10:07:01.337-07:00Thank you, Suze.Thank you, Suze.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-36975960289966644072013-07-24T09:57:51.927-07:002013-07-24T09:57:51.927-07:00You sound more an empiricist than a rationalist, G...You sound more an empiricist than a rationalist, Geo, though sensible people are usually a bit of both.<br /><br />BTO: Now I will have that song as an earworm for the rest of the day! Could be worse. :)Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-17547892333945575652013-07-24T09:55:14.286-07:002013-07-24T09:55:14.286-07:00"I personally like to think of myself as a sl..."I personally like to think of myself as a slave to reason, fortunately I am comfortable with illusion." Well put. :) It's true that we're never going to perceive reality in its totality, being not-omniscient creatures. We see through a glass, darkly. The best we can do is mitigate our propensity toward fooling ourselves. I think it's a worthwhile effort. Stops me from sending all my money to Nigerian princes, at any rate.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-64219969702119691532013-07-24T09:32:16.744-07:002013-07-24T09:32:16.744-07:00Well done, Steph. As for my thoughts, having been ...Well done, Steph. As for my thoughts, having been raised Catholic, then becoming a Mormon, then a born-again Christian, before "choosing" to follow a more rational path, I realize now that I am more a product of my environment than I'd like to believe. Had I been born in Calcutta, I would not have been a Catholic, Mormon or born-again Christian. Had I been raised to believe cannibalism was correct, I don't know that I wouldn't still think it true. Yes, we can throw off beliefs of our past, but I'm here to tell you: it's not easy and they never fully leave us. Rational thought, as elusive as it may be, is certainly preferable to me than my prior way of thinking, but it's not as warm and fuzzy, that's for sure.<br />Joe Gancihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06665649430678259147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-55433462508096122892013-07-23T23:52:39.712-07:002013-07-23T23:52:39.712-07:00I don't think we choose our beliefs as such- I...I don't think we choose our beliefs as such- I can't recall flicking through a wardrobe of identities and thinking, "This one looks good on me!" and happily wrapping myself in atheism. And yet, it's a relief and a comfort not to have to believe something that says I am always the second option, the lesser choice, as all religions do about women. Like you, I'm still impacted by a loss. My father died when I was 8. What I learned from this was that the world is mutable, and will change around you without consulting you in any way. There's no way back, so you are better to accept alteration, even if you do not like it. The world was not what I'd thought it was, which meant I'd been wrong. Stuff you rely on is more..well DURABLE... if it comes with supporting evidence. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14779551368986001352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-10524235439330599852013-07-23T20:37:01.150-07:002013-07-23T20:37:01.150-07:00No easy response to a post like this. I don't ...No easy response to a post like this. I don't believe in The Afterlife as much as I believe that this experience is only a fractional, marginal component to the whole enchilada. That's what I've got tonight, Steph.<br /><br />Like Laoch said, this was very well-expressed.Suzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07908805179119217608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-66351147706258015542013-07-23T17:33:21.182-07:002013-07-23T17:33:21.182-07:00As a rationalist, I can speculate only on what I&#...As a rationalist, I can speculate only on what I've collected through 5 senses designed to sustain me on this planet, a feature of birth --before which, of course, I remember nothing-- same as other animals. Whether or not I will be inconvenienced by nonexistence after life, I don't know. The rationalist believes all possibilities are assembled in the universe, so I trust my senses so far as they are locally useful --probably best phrased by Bachman Turner Overdrive:"You ain't seen nothing yet." Geo.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16221314320558128986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352258244647772022.post-80635506762076718002013-07-23T16:10:51.155-07:002013-07-23T16:10:51.155-07:00Interesting post: nicely explicated.
Sartre once ...Interesting post: nicely explicated.<br /><br />Sartre once famously said, "existence precedes essence," which I always found to be a comforting thought.<br /><br />As to the first part of your belief syllogism, "reality doesn't mold itself around our beliefs. Our beliefs must mold themselves around reality." Since we do not have the perceptive filters to properly perceive reality or the cognitive ability to understand reality we are all really at the mercy of irrationality. It is interesting how people choose to build their personal belief castles though.<br /><br />I personally like to think of myself as a slave to reason, fortunately I am comfortable with illusion.Sultanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06506141014376919585noreply@blogger.com