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> It makes one yearn for the day when superstition is ended once and for all, and people can live in the real world according to the best evidence of their sens

> It makes one yearn for the day when superstition is ended once and for all, and people can live in the real world according to the best evidence of their senses. A problem with that statement is peoples' senses differ. Whether you believe in extra senses or not, you would need to have everybody agree with you. There's also intuition & emotional motivation. It's easy to imagine a dystopia where only mainstream "senses" and "intelligence" are recognized as truth and people who have abilities that are not mainstream are shunned and persecuted.

javajosh 12y ago
A superstition-free world would not be totally free of the disagreement born of differing perceptions. But it would be free of disagreement born of irrational prejudice. Error can't be eliminated, but it can be minimized. There's another, possibly even more profound benefit. Superstition's harm is less about what you perceive phenomena, but rather more insidiously removes the motivation to look more deeply into phenomena. E.g. it's a second-order issue. The Indian Catholics didn't want Sanal to find the toilet leak cause of the miracle. They willfully closed their eyes to other possibilities because of their faith. What is more harmful than an idea that inspires it's adherents to close their own eyes to reality?
- briantakita 12y ago
  > What is more harmful than an idea that inspires it's adherents to close their own eyes to reality? There is a difference between Existence & Reality. Reality is based on perspective of Existence. Thus Reality is relative and seen by some as "mutable" (though I prefer the functional "immutable" view of a Reality). So the adherents you are talking about are viewing Reality perfectly well. It's just their Reality is different from yours. Now if their Reality is based on an illusion, like the bad plumbing in the OP, there's the matter of changing their perception & Reality by exposing the illusion. > But it would be free of disagreement born of irrational prejudice. What is irrational is in the eye of the beholder & heavily influenced by culture. To your point, some cultures are closer to absolute truth (less based on illusion) than others. However, even Rationality is based on a culturally defined Reality. What was Rational 100 years ago in America may not be Rational today. As humanity progresses, we expose the truth and create more illusion in different areas of Existence.

javajosh 12y ago

A superstition-free world would not be totally free of the disagreement born of differing perceptions. But it would be free of disagreement born of irrational prejudice. Error can't be eliminated, but it can be minimized. There's another, possibly even more profound benefit. Superstition's harm is less about what you perceive phenomena, but rather more insidiously removes the motivation to look more deeply into phenomena. E.g. it's a second-order issue. The Indian Catholics didn't want Sanal to find the toilet leak cause of the miracle. They willfully closed their eyes to other possibilities because of their faith. What is more harmful than an idea that inspires it's adherents to close their own eyes to reality?

briantakita 12y ago
> What is more harmful than an idea that inspires it's adherents to close their own eyes to reality? There is a difference between Existence & Reality. Reality is based on perspective of Existence. Thus Reality is relative and seen by some as "mutable" (though I prefer the functional "immutable" view of a Reality). So the adherents you are talking about are viewing Reality perfectly well. It's just their Reality is different from yours. Now if their Reality is based on an illusion, like the bad plumbing in the OP, there's the matter of changing their perception & Reality by exposing the illusion. > But it would be free of disagreement born of irrational prejudice. What is irrational is in the eye of the beholder & heavily influenced by culture. To your point, some cultures are closer to absolute truth (less based on illusion) than others. However, even Rationality is based on a culturally defined Reality. What was Rational 100 years ago in America may not be Rational today. As humanity progresses, we expose the truth and create more illusion in different areas of Existence.