Chris:
>The primary rule of rational belief is:
> Accept all, but *only*, those ideas for which you
> have rationally adequate *cognitive* validation.
>However, most people include as a major premise in their epistemology
>the following rule:
> If something *appears* true,
>then it *is* true.
Bertvan;
Other people say, "If it appears true, it is probably an illusion."
Hi Chris,
You are a materialist, and proud of it. Nothing wrong with that. There is
room for all sorts of people in this world, and we need a few materialists to
keep us honest. I don't want to ridicule your "cognitive validation", but
it appears to me like mental contortions you perform in order to avoid
acknowledging things that appears obvious to many other people. Free will,
for instance, which in order to be defined as free would be non determinant.
You have faith that life consists of nothing but a complex physical machine.
You have faith that the universe is completely comprehensible to your
"cognitive validation". You are convinced that life, the Big Bang and
everything else, consists of nothing which might not eventually be found in a
complex machine. You appear to define "intelligence" as something found in
a computer. You dismiss anything that can't be defined or measured as either
an illusion or non existent, thus ensuring that your world view remains as
you believe the universe "is supposed to be" - a universe complying with your
"cognitive validation.". Your faith appears unshakeable, with every
appearance of being emotionally important to you. Would "unknowns" frighten
you?
Some people seem willing to settle for "cognitive validation" as explanation
for life and the complexity of nature, but I, personally, don't find that
any more plausible than God, fairies or magic. I'll keep searching. I
suspect materialists are actually a minority in our society. When the public
becomes aware that Darwinism (chance variation and natural selection as an
explanation of evolution.) is nothing but pure materialism, Darwinists might
become an endangered species. Although you seem determined to do battle
against religion, more and more agnostics will be speaking out for a design
inference. If that happens, Chris, I promise I'll fight to ensure that your
"cognitive validation" gets a fair hearing.
Bertvan
http://members.aol.com/bertvan
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