This whole statement of yours is so fucked up I don’t even know where to begin. It has some fundamental errors in logic and English.
“If you are an atheist that does not believe in ghosts, what can you learn from rationality?” WTF?! What does being an atheist and/or not believing in ghosts have to do with learning from rationality. Is this your thesis or is this an attention grabbing statement?
“I’d love to be wrong about lots of things but my problem is, I think I’m right.” Of course you think you’re right! If you thought you were wrong, you wouldn’t believe yourself. There are two clauses here that don’t belong together in this sentence, “I’d love to be wrong,” and “I think I’m right”. If your point is “I think I’m right,” then there’s no use in saying “I’d love to be wrong”? If your point is “I’d love to be wrong,” then there’s no use in saying “I think I’m right”. Additionally, what is the point of this statement? Is THIS your thesis? Is this statement somehow related to the first statement? Why is this statement relevant?
“As far as I can tell, none of this reflective thinking has lead to deeper understanding of consciousness.” Are you somehow trying to associate reflective thinking with learning from rationality? If so, you have to be very specific. Also, what is your definition of “consciousness”? Is it the Freudian definition? Is it some kind of mediation lexicon? Define your terms, that’s Philosophy 101! Another thing, are you equivocating “reflective thinking” with “critical thinking”. I was just confused because since it seems you want to discuss rationality, why don’t you talk about critical thinking? Lastly, what does a deeper understanding of consciousness have to do with what we can gain from rationality? One subject is more subjective than the other.
“If you feel like it, please tell me about any particular instances where actively working on your own thought processes has lead you to realize you were wrong about something… or if the same program lead to any new understanding of consciousness.” You have finally made your fork in the road here. First, you’re discussing rationality and now you’re discussing personal reflections. Once again, you have not clearly defined your terms. What does “actively working on your own thought processes’ mean? Are you suggesting I work with someone else’s thought process or do you mean I should reflect on the subject of my own thought processes? It seems as if you started with critical thinking and ended in reflective thinking.
If you want an example, I’ll give you an example: I figured out I was wrong on my own when I asked myself “Given what I already know, is there a such thing as free will”. I didn’t do any research online, it was a totally internal journey so to speak. I started by believing in free will, then when I asked myself the question and thought about it for a few days, I arrived at the conclusion that I was wrong.
In conclusion, the main question “What can we gain from rationality?” was never clearly answered or articulated in you post. You have MUCH more to learn about logic and English. I’m not saying you’re stupid, I used to do the same exact things. You just need to recognize your mistakes from an objective perspective. You know what you’re talking about (I hope) and I want you to get the point across without confusion. If you ever repost this same question and follow my advice, I’ll give you a clear and concise answer.
This whole statement of yours is so fucked up I don’t even know where to begin. It has some fundamental errors in logic and English. “If you are an atheist that does not believe in ghosts, what can you learn from rationality?” WTF?! What does being an atheist and/or not believing in ghosts have to do with learning from rationality. Is this your thesis or is this an attention grabbing statement? “I’d love to be wrong about lots of things but my problem is, I think I’m right.” Of course you think you’re right! If you thought you were wrong, you wouldn’t believe yourself. There are two clauses here that don’t belong together in this sentence, “I’d love to be wrong,” and “I think I’m right”. If your point is “I think I’m right,” then there’s no use in saying “I’d love to be wrong”? If your point is “I’d love to be wrong,” then there’s no use in saying “I think I’m right”. Additionally, what is the point of this statement? Is THIS your thesis? Is this statement somehow related to the first statement? Why is this statement relevant? “As far as I can tell, none of this reflective thinking has lead to deeper understanding of consciousness.” Are you somehow trying to associate reflective thinking with learning from rationality? If so, you have to be very specific. Also, what is your definition of “consciousness”? Is it the Freudian definition? Is it some kind of mediation lexicon? Define your terms, that’s Philosophy 101! Another thing, are you equivocating “reflective thinking” with “critical thinking”. I was just confused because since it seems you want to discuss rationality, why don’t you talk about critical thinking? Lastly, what does a deeper understanding of consciousness have to do with what we can gain from rationality? One subject is more subjective than the other. “If you feel like it, please tell me about any particular instances where actively working on your own thought processes has lead you to realize you were wrong about something… or if the same program lead to any new understanding of consciousness.” You have finally made your fork in the road here. First, you’re discussing rationality and now you’re discussing personal reflections. Once again, you have not clearly defined your terms. What does “actively working on your own thought processes’ mean? Are you suggesting I work with someone else’s thought process or do you mean I should reflect on the subject of my own thought processes? It seems as if you started with critical thinking and ended in reflective thinking. If you want an example, I’ll give you an example: I figured out I was wrong on my own when I asked myself “Given what I already know, is there a such thing as free will”. I didn’t do any research online, it was a totally internal journey so to speak. I started by believing in free will, then when I asked myself the question and thought about it for a few days, I arrived at the conclusion that I was wrong.
In conclusion, the main question “What can we gain from rationality?” was never clearly answered or articulated in you post. You have MUCH more to learn about logic and English. I’m not saying you’re stupid, I used to do the same exact things. You just need to recognize your mistakes from an objective perspective. You know what you’re talking about (I hope) and I want you to get the point across without confusion. If you ever repost this same question and follow my advice, I’ll give you a clear and concise answer.