AI
Sunday, September 27, 2009 12:14:29 AM
Re: How to talk to complete idiots
Thanks, I think.
I'm hoping this is more of an, "I agree with you and here's something you can relate to," kind of message, as opposed to, "You resemble the topic of this article."
Of course, there's a 4th option not discussed in this article. Rather than arguing over data, or demeaning the person, or ignoring them, it's also possible to drop the cynicism, and give someone the benefit of the doubt that they aren't an idiot, just because they believe in something very different than you.
For example, you've seen much of the same data in this world that I have, and it might convince you to be an atheist. Nothing wrong with that, it's simply your conclusion. You may have never seen any evidence of a God, and plenty of evidence that the Universe runs of its own accord. Such a conclusion would therefore not be without good cause.
On the other hand, another person could conclude that there could be a God, and that this God chooses to never show themselves in a way that is obvious or apparent. I am not a Creationist, and I don't believe in all the Bible stories, but I do choose to believe that there is more to this Universe than atoms flying around obeying Einsteinian and Quantum Mechanical laws. I believe that some things - the origin of the Universe, or the miracle of Free Will - cannot be explained by conventional means, and if anything, present a contradiction to everything we know about science.
Of course, I could not say that an atheist is wrong, if they should point out to me that it's very possible we'll discover something in the future that would give a rational explanation to these things. After all, we've logically explained many things in the past, so why not assume that everything has an explanation? That very well may be the case - I just don't choose to believe that it must be so.
Thanks, I think.
I'm hoping this is more of an, "I agree with you and here's something you can relate to," kind of message, as opposed to, "You resemble the topic of this article."
Of course, there's a 4th option not discussed in this article. Rather than arguing over data, or demeaning the person, or ignoring them, it's also possible to drop the cynicism, and give someone the benefit of the doubt that they aren't an idiot, just because they believe in something very different than you.
For example, you've seen much of the same data in this world that I have, and it might convince you to be an atheist. Nothing wrong with that, it's simply your conclusion. You may have never seen any evidence of a God, and plenty of evidence that the Universe runs of its own accord. Such a conclusion would therefore not be without good cause.
On the other hand, another person could conclude that there could be a God, and that this God chooses to never show themselves in a way that is obvious or apparent. I am not a Creationist, and I don't believe in all the Bible stories, but I do choose to believe that there is more to this Universe than atoms flying around obeying Einsteinian and Quantum Mechanical laws. I believe that some things - the origin of the Universe, or the miracle of Free Will - cannot be explained by conventional means, and if anything, present a contradiction to everything we know about science.
Of course, I could not say that an atheist is wrong, if they should point out to me that it's very possible we'll discover something in the future that would give a rational explanation to these things. After all, we've logically explained many things in the past, so why not assume that everything has an explanation? That very well may be the case - I just don't choose to believe that it must be so.
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