David McF wrote:
<<You seem to be implying that reason cannot lead to true goodwill. It
can.>>
Not at all. Reason can indeed lead to abandoning Reason as your god. This is a necessary step to level 3.
<<You can reason that being selective with your goodwill may have better
payoffs sometimes, but it costs too much to figure out when to apply it in
a realistic environment with uncertain information, not to mention possibly
undermining one's own self-esteem.>>
Yes, exactly.
<<If that is not the case, then having faith in goodwill is simply more
harmful
than being reasonably goodwilled (unless your True Purpose is to become a
martyr :-). Either way, you are better off (or at least no worse off) using
reason rather than faith.>>
But that's the whole point, David. You are using reason to CHOOSE faith! Choosing, upon reflection, to abandon reason. To make human beings more important than ideals, than ego, than winning.
<<What if for every situation where faith is useful, it can be shown that
you
would be at least as well off using reason and sometimes better off?
Wouldn't that be an excellent reason to abandon faith? Of course it would
take a reasonable person to understand the merit of this argument and
therein lies the dilemma :-)>>
OK, I'm waiting for your proof. The trouble is, no such proof is possible. And if you were to try it, the proof would be in the miracle of the change in your life.
Richard Brodie richard@brodietech.com http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/
Author, "Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme"
http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/votm.htm
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