Steve Matuchek contrasts Virginia and himself with their Jewish neighbors:
"If only we too could sincerely believe. But we were what we were; in our minds, belief was a powerful force if you really had it, with no doubts or reservations, an attitude we'd never managed to reconcile with a slew of disturbing questions. Intelligence had nothing to do with that. Sam, for instance, was smarter than me, more widely read, better at math, and so on. It was a matter of psychology." (p. 379)
Belief without doubt or reservation is a powerful force because it motivates but it does that even if the belief in question is false. What we need is not sincere belief but the closest possible approach to the truth, however unpalatable. If sincerity of belief is a matter of psychology, then it is not a matter of either reason or evidence.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I believe Christianity is that absolute truth, no matter how unpalatable many might find that.
Ad astra! Sean
A phenomenon exists in and of itself, but it acquires human meaning only through human thought.
Which is why Nietzsche pointed out that there are, in social terms, no facts -- only interpretations of facts. And no moral phenomena, only moral interpretations of phenomena.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Granted, phenomena or acts need to be analyzed to determine the proper moral interpretations. Which is what believe Aristotle did in his NICHOMACHEAN ETHICS.
Ad astra! Sean
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