Faith-vs-Reason...

Rational Nation USA
Purveyor of Truth


Faith

1.complete trust or confidence in someone or something:
"this restores one's faith in politicians"

2.strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.


Reason

1.a cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event:
"the minister resigned for personal reasons" ·

2.the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic:
"there is a close connection between reason and emotion"

1.think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic:





Don't know about you all but I'll through my lot in with reason.

Comments

  1. Jerry CritterTue Nov 03, 09:21:00 PM EST

    Faith is easy. You just do what your faith leaders tell you.

    Reason is hard. You have to think and decide.

    There should be no question that reason beats faith...but there is!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Prophet Dervish Z SandersWed Nov 04, 11:09:00 AM EST

    Given that according to PEW "33% [of scientists] say they believe in God, while 18% say they believe in a universal spirit or higher power [outnumbering the] 41% [who] say they don’t believe in either" - I say faith is NOT incompatible with reason.

    Unless you're talking about Right-wing fundamentalists who call themselves Christians, then obviously, for these people, the answer is no. This also explains why (according to PEW) "slightly more than half of scientists (52%) describe their own political views as liberal, including 14% who describe themselves as very liberal [while] among the general public, 20% describe themselves as liberal, with just 5% calling themselves very liberal".

    ReplyDelete
  3. Les CarpenterWed Nov 04, 01:22:00 PM EST

    There certainly are large numbers of individuals who possess great powers of reason and the ability to use logic in their thought process, problem solving, and decision making while at the same time holding a belief in a supreme being and religious dogma.

    I believe Dervish is correct in his three observations. Of course for a man or women to believe in a supreme being requires faith as the existence of a creator cannot be proven or dis proven.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jerry CritterWed Nov 04, 02:12:00 PM EST

    Of course, both of you are correct. It is entirely possible for a person to be both a believer and a reasoner. Unfortunately a significant portion of our voting population seems to stuck in the believer mode and cannot add the reasoner mode.

    ReplyDelete
  5. (O)CT(O)PUSThu Nov 05, 08:54:00 AM EST

    I am starting to think reason is an unobtainable goal. I see myself as a 'reasonable' octopus, but I have been known to get downright inky -- and stinky -- at times. I know people who put reason and logic on a high pedestal but act in ways that are anything but reasonable. There are persons of faith who genuinely believe in ethical and moral acts that derive logically from the Golden Rule; and there are people of faith who rationalize the most repugnant behaviors as righteous and moral in the name of Adonai, Allah, Yahweh, Cthulhu, or whatever.

    I am not even sure if there is a consensus on what constitutes reason or faith. All I do know is this: All of us are basically animals of one species or another.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Les CarpenterThu Nov 05, 09:49:00 AM EST

    It has occurred to me that animals who kill other animals of their own kind for sport on a regular continual basis are not very reasoned animals.

    ReplyDelete
  7. (O)CT(O)PUSThu Nov 05, 11:54:00 AM EST

    Having raised 3 kids, I can understand why some animals eat their own young.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Les CarpenterThu Nov 05, 12:30:00 PM EST

    Like you I also have three offspring. So I experienced a smile upon reading this. Yet I cannot understand animals eating their own young. Unless they know their young faced a worse fate were they not to.

    Reason or faith?

    ReplyDelete

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