Mar 30
I guess you could call it a theory. I’ve tried to describe it in words before, but I just had to post this, as it’s a perfect illustration of the relativity of Common Sense.
Available at XKCD
Archive for the 'Philosophy' Category
Mar 23
Religion is based primarily and mainly upon fear. The fear of the unknown and the fear of ambiguity are at the very foundation of religion, especially monotheism. Built on top of that is the fear of death, the fear of defeat, the fear of “evil”, the fear of change, and the fear of anything different.
I will explain these in detail, but first, let’s briefly address what some others might say is at the foundation of religion - Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness or some closely related and/or direct subset of these categories. Some might say “truth”, but that can’t really be the foundation if that’s what they are all searching for, or in some cases think they have found or been shown by a god.
In short, things like love, compassion, or forgiveness may be values that are practiced by some religious people, but the fact that others can follow these religions without incorporating such values shows that, while deeply ingrained for some, they are certainly not the foundation on which the religion was built. The foundation is something that all adherents share, or have in common, regardless of their particular sect or which deity they choose to follow.
Some might point out that there are those who might express their individuality through their religion. In other words, they generally do not care if others live by their beliefs and values. Their religion is an individual choice and is important to only themselves. These people are building on a different foundation than that of organized religion. And I am not referring to these people when I speak in general about whatever religion they may identify closely with.
This is a commentary on organized religion itself and the dogma it preaches as worthy of submission, worship, and belief by all humans. The foundation, in some semblance, incorporates the following…
The Fear of Death
This is a particularly odd fear, considering what most believers think will happen to them after they die. It’s a very rosy picture, and more often than not, better than the “hell” that is their current material life. Ask any theist and odds are they will tell that they are - eventually - going to heaven after they die, or they will tell you that they are coming back in the next life as a more fortunate and more enlightened being, depending on which kind of theist you ask.
So why is there a fear of death? Is it just human nature to not want to die? It’s an interesting question when posed to a theist. I would contend that it is human nature to avoid death, but the picture of the afterlife that most theists have in mind for themselves serves to combat that most basic of human instincts. But they still fear death. Why?
Read the rest of this entry »
Feb 28
“Shallow men believe in luck, believe in circumstances — it was somebody’s name, or he happened to be there at the time, or it was so then, and another day would have been otherwise. Strong men believe in cause and effect.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Jan 29
Thomas Paine, born January 29, 1737, arrived in America in 1774 at Benjamin Franklin’s request. On January 10, 1776, he published Common Sense, a powerful republican pamphlet advocating the separation of church and state (among other things) which had an immediate impact, and is the influence for the title of this blog.
Paine served in the Revolutionary War and in the Pennsylvania legislature. In his other major essay, Age of Reason, Paine expressed that “all religions are in their nature mild and benign” when not associated with political systems. Thomas Paine was the quintessential Deist of the 18th century.
In 1791 and 1792 Paine published numerous editions of his Rights of Man, in which he defended the French Revolution.
The work of Thomas Paine inspired many to strive for political, economic, and social advancement. He was among the first to call for an end to slavery and the establishment of human rights around the world.
I am proud to call him a great influence on myself and the early American political system.
Jan 11
“If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.”
- Bertrand Russel
Jan 06
I don’t find utilitarianism to be a particularly healthy philosophy for individuals or societies. Justifying the means with the ends can lead you down some dangerous and unwarranted paths. And it is one of the main roots of hypocrisy, an often unintentional (or ignored) “end” that comes as an unwelcome side dish to the primary goal you were trying to achieve in the first place. Basically, as a one-time thing, it works (isolationists and short-sighted thinkers abound), but if you happen to live beyond that one time, you might as well admit that you have no principles.
More on this in the future.
Loading ...
