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I don't think there's any value in astrology. The fact that people believed in it (and still do) for a very long time doesn't change that, as humanity has had m
by Tainnor 3y ago
I don't think there's any value in astrology. The fact that people believed in it (and still do) for a very long time doesn't change that, as humanity has had many long-standing beliefs that turned out to be entirely wrong (e.g. geocentrism, that there was something particular about biochemistry that couldn't be recreated synthetically, aether, ...).
The fact that it may serve a certain psychological function means that we can understand why humans are intrigued by it. And I do agree that we shouldn't be too quick with judgements, because all humans are fundamentally irrational and we have to expend some very conscious effort to think rationally (and nobody can claim to do that at all times, so we all have certain irrational beliefs).
But that doesn't change whether astrology itself is, epistemically, telling us anything of value about the nature of the world, which I'm pretty convinced it doesn't.
- giraffe_lady 3y agoYou ever flip a coin to decide something for yourself, then do the opposite of how it fell? In tossing the coin you learn something about what you actually want to do. Was there value in flipping the coin? A very complex version of this is basically how I view astrology.
- YurgenJurgensen 3y agoThat coin cost you one penny. Astrology props up an entire industry of grifters.
- adhesive_wombat 3y agoIf your penny is consumed by the toss, maybe use a bit less force? At least wear impact-rated safety specs.
- amanaplanacanal 3y agoThose grifters are providing entertainment for the believers. Not sure how it’s that much different from video games or musicians.
- coffeefirst 3y agoI think what you’re missing is how often people who get into this stuff are mostly just having fun. It goes in the same category as folklore and ghosts and fantasizing about colonizing Mars. If it were real it would very quickly stop being fun and become deadly serious business instead.
- Tainnor 3y agoI believe I covered this when I admitted that people are not fully rational and so such things are perfectly understandable.