From: hampday@earthlink.net
Date: Tue Apr 12 2005 - 01:26:28 BST
Hi Marsha --
Marsha asked:
> Am I totally nuts?
Gee, I don't know. Have you had your head examined recently? (I have.)
Seriously, if you will read my last posting to David, I think it will
enlighten you as to the difference between beliefs that have empirical
validation and those that don't.
I'll try to make it simple. In the practical world of houses, trees, and
I-pods, we need a reliable set of principles to build, maintain and operate
things. Reduced to its simplest form, an empirical principle is a "fact"
whose reliability has been universally established by observation and
repeated testing.
Any other kind of belief may or may not be a fact, but we do not know.
Sometimes we're just ignorant of the facts and accept a belief on hearsay or
as part of a tradition, such as folklore, superstition or religion. Some
beliefs stem from intuitive concepts that simply can't be tested by the
empirical method. Is there a god? Is there a hereafter? Is there meaning?
What is consciousness? What is nothingness? What is the essence of
reality? What is goodness? -- these are questions that fall into the domain
of Philosophy. To the philosopher, they're more important than empirical
knowledge about the physical world. But the conclusions that philosophy
comes up with are not "factual". They are metaphysical hypotheses based on
logic and reason. And while they can and do influence our beliefs, they
can't be proved. (Not in this world, anyway.)
As to where your personal beliefs fit into this scheme, I'd best let you
decide.
Best regards,
Ham
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