From: William Kitchen (bill@iglobal.net)
Date: Sun Apr 13 1997 - 18:55:56 MDT
> Date: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 22:17:36 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Mike Rose <mich_ros@alcor.concordia.ca>
> "It is my firm belief that it is a mistake to hold firm beliefs"
>
> But I ask myself, 'how can we move forward if we have no firm beliefs to
> spring from?'
Solipsism may be uncomfortable to accept, but it seems to me that
it's the closest thing I've seen to an absolute truth. That isn't as
self contradictory as it may sound. Solipsism doesn't preclude the
existence of absolute truth, but only absolute knowlege of the truth.
Living with that philosophy is not what a "believer" might expect.
Severing all dependence on outside definitions of "meaning" allows
life to have whatever meaning we choose to give it. Which, if we
choose, can go far beyond any "canned" sense of meaning that might
come from one of the ready-made paths to enlightenment that religion
may offer. Beauty can exist wherever we choose to see it. Hardly
the bland, nihilistic world that some might mislead you to expect.
As for how one progresses without a foundation of faith, it isn't so
difficult really. We decide what seems most likely to be true, and
act upon it with full knowlege that we may be wrong. Having a "plan
B" can improve the odds, but the B plan can be as disfunctional as
the A plan. We place our bets, and we take our chances. Those with
a "solid" foundation of belief may perceive life as something other
than this, but they're rolling their dice just like the rest of us.
"Why are we here?
Because we're here.
Roll the bones"
-- Neil Peart
I prefer genuine ignorance over false knowlege.
---
Peace,
William Kitchen
bill@iglobal.net
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