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On Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:45:29 -0700, Darren New wrote:
> "Knowing" isn't *just* a state of mind, is what I'm trying to express.
That's a fair point, and something I hadn't considered before.
>> Well, my specific experience was the reverse - I wasn't dreaming
>
> No, because then you would have discounted it. :-)
Very likely, yes. :-)
>> But I see what you mean and will have to think on that more as well.
>
> Cool.
I find that life is generally full of challenges to things that one
asserts as true - and that "truth" (as commonly used from a philosophical
standpoint rather than a scientific or mathematical standpoint) is
something that depends on circumstances. So accepting a perception as
truth means that often it has to be subject to change.
>> Hmm, an interesting point, and something else to think about.
>
> These are fun things to think about. I find it's actually kind of
> refreshing and liberating to realize that I might be wrong in my deepest
> convictions. It makes discussions of various philosophical stuff much
> more interesting.
Same here (that's what I was trying to say above, and as always, you said
much more eloquently <g>). It takes a willingness to accept that one
might be wrong about something that's a deeply held conviction, though,
and it's rare that people do that. I think that's a real shame.
>> I think part of it with me is that I tend to attribute "faith" and
>> "belief" with "religion", so I shy away from those terms because of
>> those connotations, which I consider undesirable connotations.
>
> I don't have a problem with faith, even of a religious nature. It's when
> that "faith" turns into "knowledge" and therefore "you should do X" that
> causes trouble, religion or not. For example, in college at one point my
> mother became convinced I was doing drugs, and she wanted to see all my
> class schedules and wanted me to come home promptly. (I was commuting to
> college at the time.) I, *knowing* I wasn't doing drugs, just laughed
> and refused. No amount of confidence, belief, or faith on her part was
> going to convince me I had to change my behavior to stop doing drugs I
> wasn't already doing. So maybe I'm a little oversensitive to people
> claiming something is true simply because they're really, really
> convinced it is.
That makes a lot of sense and provides an interesting insight into your
perspective - thank you for sharing it.
Jim
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