I was originally looking for good arguments in favor of theism and I thought that you guys of all people ought to know some. Suffice it to say that I was largely wrong about that.
Sorry, I can’t tell you what I don’t know. All the arguments for theism that I’ve ever heard were either chock-full of logical fallacies, or purely instrumental, of the form “I don’t care if any of this stuff is true or not, but I’m going to pretend that it is because doing so helps me in some way”. I personally believe that there’s a large performance penalty associated with believing false things, and thus arguments of the second sort are entirely unconvincing for me.
I am looking forward to your discussion post, however. Hopefully, I’ll finally get to see some solid arguments for theism in there !
I am looking forward to your discussion post, however. Hopefully, I’ll finally get to see some solid arguments for theism in there !
Sorry to disappoint you there. As I’ve said, I have no hope of convincing all of you and I’m not going to try; I wouldn’t stand a chance in a formal debate against a dozen of you.
I was thinking more along the lines of why I think it’s best to take the conclusions of a certain way of thinking with a grain of salt no matter how right its members think they are. Being skeptical of skepticism, one could say. So yes, it’s likely going to seem like a long criticism of Less Wrong’s fundamental philosophy, and chances are it won’t be too popular—but you never know. I think it’s a very good practice in life, not to accept any philosophy too fully.
What gives me the authority to say such things? An outside perspective.
Sorry, I can’t tell you what I don’t know. All the arguments for theism that I’ve ever heard were either chock-full of logical fallacies, or purely instrumental, of the form “I don’t care if any of this stuff is true or not, but I’m going to pretend that it is because doing so helps me in some way”. I personally believe that there’s a large performance penalty associated with believing false things, and thus arguments of the second sort are entirely unconvincing for me.
I am looking forward to your discussion post, however. Hopefully, I’ll finally get to see some solid arguments for theism in there !
Sorry to disappoint you there. As I’ve said, I have no hope of convincing all of you and I’m not going to try; I wouldn’t stand a chance in a formal debate against a dozen of you.
I was thinking more along the lines of why I think it’s best to take the conclusions of a certain way of thinking with a grain of salt no matter how right its members think they are. Being skeptical of skepticism, one could say. So yes, it’s likely going to seem like a long criticism of Less Wrong’s fundamental philosophy, and chances are it won’t be too popular—but you never know. I think it’s a very good practice in life, not to accept any philosophy too fully.
What gives me the authority to say such things? An outside perspective.
An always open mind never closes on anything. There is a time to confess your ignorance and a time to relinquish your ignorance and all that...