tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14613409.post6301787236812778640..comments2021-01-08T03:40:55.056-06:00Comments on Pulpitum Vulpis: Against OptimismM. Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15355720086156463309noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14613409.post-55050557878835171792012-01-09T16:56:07.918-06:002012-01-09T16:56:07.918-06:00Hey Dawn,
Here's my issue with faith. Most a...Hey Dawn,<br /><br />Here's my issue with faith. Most arguments for belief (that I've heard) in the end rely on some sort of statement that we need to belief Christianity is true in order for human life to be meaningful, etc. <br /><br />Some do this directly. Others are more circuitous: they start off as presenting rational evidence, but then make some sort of leap with the proclamation that if we were skeptics (as I would hold the data demands) we could never actually know whether this important truth were true. Still others don't admit to a leap in the rational evidence, but only for the commitment to the position required.<br /><br />But they all have some element of optimistic faith, which seems to me to be straight up wish fulfillment. If it is not given by the evidence, with the degree of commitment and certainty demanded by the evidence, but rather is something we believe to be true because it lets us believe things that we want to be true, this is the very definition of wish fulfillment. (Which is not to say that science can't be approached in a similar fashion, but belief in evolution and belief in Christianity are orders of magnitude different.)<br /><br />But it seems to be a poor way of navigating the world in every single area in life. Why should the heart suddenly be the route to truth here? It is like saying that a romance must work out, because one desires so much that it does. One can rationalize it as much as one wants, but at root, it is the emotion leading the way, oftentimes into disaster.M. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15355720086156463309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14613409.post-78570387975363988202012-01-08T23:07:38.854-06:002012-01-08T23:07:38.854-06:00You may be conflating faith and an unhealthy sense...You may be conflating faith and an unhealthy sense of optimism.Dawnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14613409.post-80460419474685923202012-01-08T23:07:11.294-06:002012-01-08T23:07:11.294-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Dawn Xiana Moonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00150402204611526413noreply@blogger.com