Relativism is the belief that there is no One Truth. Instead, every group (or perhaps everyone!) has their own truth. My truth is different from your truth. Our truth is different from their truth.
But this is nonsense. You believe something because you think that it is true -- you believe that it accurately describes the world. It sounds trivial but you believe that your beliefs are true, otherwise you'd change your beliefs!
It is easy to prove that we live in the same world because we can interact with each other without traveling to another world.
We all believe different things and each of us may be wrong about our beliefs. In fact, it is logically impossible for all of us to be right since we believe different things about fundamental issues. It is logically impossible for all metaphysical systems to be true since they are contradictory. It is possible that all of them are false. It is possible that one of them is true.
But it is most likely that we will never truly know the answers to life's biggest questions.
I believe in atheism, materialism, environmentalism, liberalism, a mix of socialism and capitalism, some modified form of utilitarianism, and a laughing Stoicism. I believe these because I think they are true.
Liberalism is not Relativism. Relativists reject Truth and embrace multiple truths as the One Truth. Liberals acknowledge that everyone believes their beliefs to be true and they realize the lesson in humility there.
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Elvish Irony
J.R.R. Tolkien explicitly stated that he wanted to create a new mythology for the English because their native mythology was so incomplete. He failed to realize that his beloved Christianity was the primary cause of the destruction of native English mythology.
Early evangelists destroyed sacred trees to prove the impotence of the pagan gods. They deliberately built churches on top of ancient temples. They turned the sylvan elves into demons and devils.
Christians succeeded in demythologizing the world and we have the environmental scars to prove it.
Early evangelists destroyed sacred trees to prove the impotence of the pagan gods. They deliberately built churches on top of ancient temples. They turned the sylvan elves into demons and devils.
Christians succeeded in demythologizing the world and we have the environmental scars to prove it.
A Foma gives confidence
Vonnegut says that a "foma" is a harmless untruth that sooths simple souls.
Dennett uses the image of Dumbo believing that the magic crow feather makes him fly.
Believing that the Creator of the Universe is really on your side in your struggles to make it in the world gives you a lot of confidence. Confidence is a necessary ingredient to success in practically anything worthwhile. The belief gives confidence which breeds success which reinforces the belief.
I would leave them to their beliefs if only they would change their ways about sex, pleasure, and the planet.
Dennett uses the image of Dumbo believing that the magic crow feather makes him fly.
Believing that the Creator of the Universe is really on your side in your struggles to make it in the world gives you a lot of confidence. Confidence is a necessary ingredient to success in practically anything worthwhile. The belief gives confidence which breeds success which reinforces the belief.
I would leave them to their beliefs if only they would change their ways about sex, pleasure, and the planet.
Your guess and our fate
There must be a distinction between knowledge and a guess. The traditional answer, dating back to at least Plato, is that knowledge requires some justification whereas a guess does not. Without a good justification for your religious beliefs, your faith is really just a guess.
Under normal circumstances, I would applaud that someone made a guess that I would not. There is no harm to me. I might learn from their mistakes or successes.
But many religious guesses come with other consequences -- most notably the commandment to go forth and multiply while you subdue the land. This will lead to environmental destruction and over population.
Unlike other creatures, we can choose to curb our own growth. Or Nature will check it with famine, disease, etc.
Under normal circumstances, I would applaud that someone made a guess that I would not. There is no harm to me. I might learn from their mistakes or successes.
But many religious guesses come with other consequences -- most notably the commandment to go forth and multiply while you subdue the land. This will lead to environmental destruction and over population.
Unlike other creatures, we can choose to curb our own growth. Or Nature will check it with famine, disease, etc.
The Circle of Life
We have a nice symbiotic relationship with plants -- a cycle of energy that keeps us both alive. People who believe that they are not of this world basically deny this relationship. This denial allows for widescale destruction of plant habitat.
I don't know how this relationship got started, I only acknowledge that its continuation is the continuation of human life. Why are we collectively expanding our own numbers and destroying what makes those numbers possible?
I don't know how this relationship got started, I only acknowledge that its continuation is the continuation of human life. Why are we collectively expanding our own numbers and destroying what makes those numbers possible?
The Meaning of Pavement
Pavement means that we want nothing green to grow here ever again. If something manages to sneak through a crack and grow, we will pour hot tar on it. We want nothing green here.
Consider how much more pavement there is in the world now than just one hundred years ago. Consider how much more pavement there will be in just one hundred years. More pavement means less green.
Consider how much more pavement there is in the world now than just one hundred years ago. Consider how much more pavement there will be in just one hundred years. More pavement means less green.
The Prius Paradox
By conserving, hybrid owners are reducing the demand for gasoline. Economics dictates that a decrease in demand will create a decrease in price. The resulting cheap fuel encourages more people to buy large vehicles.
Perhaps the most environmentally active thing to do is to buy a large gas hog, which will increase the demand, cause an increase in price, and force more people to buy hybrid vehicles.
Perhaps the most environmentally active thing to do is to buy a large gas hog, which will increase the demand, cause an increase in price, and force more people to buy hybrid vehicles.
Our Little Sliver of Atmosphere
I am very concerned about global warming. Each day I become more aware of the fact that we live in a small sliver of atmosphere in a universe that is otherwise completely inhospitable to humans. Each day I see us burn as much fossil fuels into that small sliver of atmosphere as we can possible burn. People invent new and better ways to burn even more fossil fuels, and each day people buy more and more stuff that will burn these fossil fuels. Economies grow by burning more fossil fuels than were burned last year.
Scientists do not know what exactly will happen. Critics pounce on this fact as if it proves that nothing terrible will happen. It doesn’t. It only proves that scientists are rational, and rationality requires some modesty concerning predicting the future, especially with a phenomenon as complex as the global atmospheric conditions.
Humans are burning as many fossil fuels as possible and releasing the waste into this little sliver of atmosphere. We are polluting what makes human life possible.
Scientists do not know what exactly will happen. Critics pounce on this fact as if it proves that nothing terrible will happen. It doesn’t. It only proves that scientists are rational, and rationality requires some modesty concerning predicting the future, especially with a phenomenon as complex as the global atmospheric conditions.
Humans are burning as many fossil fuels as possible and releasing the waste into this little sliver of atmosphere. We are polluting what makes human life possible.
Rationalism, Materialism, Environmentalism
Studying philosophy is an attempt to be rational about life. Many people use magical thinking to solve the question of how to live. Magical thinking halts inquiry, whereas rational thinking requires it. Peirce wrote that the first principle of logic is “Do not block the way of inquiry.” That is the motto of the rational.
I believe that rationality leads to materialism – the belief that the physical world is everything there is to the world. The alternative is the belief in the supernatural – the belief that there is something beyond this mere physical world. Most believers in the supernatural (from Plato on) have also believed that this heavenly beyond world is also better and more valuable than this polluted and fallen mess. This allows them to pollute and pillage this world and feel confident that a better world exists in the skies. By contrast, the rational person must realize that this planet Earth is our only possible home in a hostile universe. Rationality leads to materialism, which leads to environmentalism.
I believe that rationality leads to materialism – the belief that the physical world is everything there is to the world. The alternative is the belief in the supernatural – the belief that there is something beyond this mere physical world. Most believers in the supernatural (from Plato on) have also believed that this heavenly beyond world is also better and more valuable than this polluted and fallen mess. This allows them to pollute and pillage this world and feel confident that a better world exists in the skies. By contrast, the rational person must realize that this planet Earth is our only possible home in a hostile universe. Rationality leads to materialism, which leads to environmentalism.
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