Am Sonntag, 30. Dezember 2001 02:06 schrieb Samantha Atkins:
> > - People buy guns because they feel unsafe, even if statistics show
> > that most of them will never be victims of a violent crime - "just in
> > case...".
>
> Actually, I bought mine because I didn't want to be with out
> them when the bureaucrats outlaw them completely and I wanted to
> stand up to those who say "common" citizens should not be
> trusted with such means of defense.
So, your motivations are purely rational? Which rationale stands behind
"don't want to", then? What would happen in that case and how can you be
sure? Why do you care what those others say? If your argumentation is
purely rational, under which circumstances would your logic lead you to
give your weapons back?
Is there any long-term planning without feelings? How did you decide which
job to go for, which house to buy, which partner to marry? Pure rational
logic?
> > - People believe in religions because they feel alone without and
> > "empowered" with it, even if history provides no proven evidence for
> > their beliefs - "just in case...".
>
> To the extent I believe in such things it has nothing at all to
> do with any sort of "just in case" thinking or with feeling
> alone. It does provide some sense of extra empowerment but it
> is not in the least a primary motivation.
Where does this "empowerment" come from? Can you give us a rational basis
for it? How does it improve your logic?
> > - People believe in cryonics and such because they fear to die, even
> > if there's no evidence that they can reawake with their mind undamaged
> > - "just in case...".
>
> Actually, the fear of death and seeking to avoid it is certainly
> fully rational unless one believes in an afterlife and perhaps
> even then. While it hasn't been done yet a slim hope of future
> revival is seen as better than no hope.
Hope is a feeling. Fear is a feeling. What would happen if you'd leave this
idea? How would you feel? Why not improve your current life instead of
wasting energy and time for a belief?
> > - People believe in transhumanism to find comfort in the fiction of a
> > better tomorrow, even if there is no rational basis for their theories
> > - "just in case..."
>
> This is one is utterly absurd. People are transhumanists
> because they believe it is possible to transcend the current
> human condition in various ways and are actively willing to
> engage in the attempt to do so.
Believing is a form of feeling, not of knowing and rational thinking. Hope
for a better future is a feeling.
Hey, feelings aren't bad. They are sometimes irrational at first sight,
yes. We cannot trust them 100%, okay. We have to analyze and control them,
right. But a well trained feeling can often guide and motivate us better
than tedious logic. So, don't be afraid of feelings :-)
Kai
-- == Kai M. Becker == kmb@kai-m-becker.de == Bremen, Germany == "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced"
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