Journal severoon's Journal: Religion is Irrational 2
Hold up, religious zealot! Don't get all offended. It's true...religion is irrational. You're the one linking the word "irrational" with a negative value judgment...I'm just speaking the truth.
What about the big three? Can anyone make a logical argument that Christianity, Islam, or Judaism are rational pursuits? (I don't feel the need to address Hinduism, which relies on a vast mythology that is widely regarded from within the religion itself as allegory, nor Buddhism, which openly and specifically addresses the concept of rationality itself as being an obstacle to enlightenment.) This is simple to answer, as it happens. Do any one of these not require the believer to make a "leap of faith"?
As in the mathematical discipline of the same name, logical reasoning can lead to any statement at all, true or untrue, if even the smallest inconsistency is allowed to creep in. Here, look:
x = 1 (line 1)
x^2 = 1 (2)
x^2 - 1 = 0 (3)
(x - 1)*(x + 1) = 0 (4)
x + 1 = 0/(x - 1) (5)
x + 1 = 0 (6)
x = -1 (7)
At the beginning of this proof, I set x equal to 1. Following a sequence of perfectly valid mathemetical operations, x comes to equal -1. Therefore, 1=-1. Right?
Of course not. A small logical inconsistency snuck in there, resulting in the logical error. And if you didn't catch it, that means you went along with it because it seemed reasonable...you willingly made a leap of faith in the correctness of the errant step that resulted in a small but unfathomably significant flaw. If that small flaw is allowed to remain as truth in your system of reasoning based on the above proof and your leap of faith, though, I can build an entire mathematical framework based upon it that can result in whatever statement I like, all without having to introduce even one more error.
So, ok, if you don't know yet I'll tell you; where'd you make your leap? Take a closer look at line 5. See the right side of that equation: 0/(x-1)? This is the problem...see, I've already defined at the beginning that x=1. So if I evaluate line 5 of the "proof", it becomes obvious what's wrong: 0/(x-1)=0/(1-1)=0/0. You can't divide by zero.
So, you see, a tiny, tiny bit of irrationality injected into a whole lot of rationality can result in a situation in which I can convince most people that anything of my choosing is true, provided they're willing to accept that 1=-1 based on my proof above. And accept it they must, absurd as it is, because it's mathematically "proven".
I'm not saying that irrationality is necessarily bad. In fact, it's quite likely that in many cases irrationality serves our purposes. It's probably true that we have, over millions of years, evolved many irrational behaviors, instincts, and beliefs because nature selects for survival, not rationality (all you have to do is look at a duck-billed platypus to figure that out).
Of course, this does not mean that all irrationality is good, either. Now that you, along with every other religious person I've ever spoken to on this topic including priests, deacons, rabbis, and imams agree that religion depends upon a "leap of faith", a step of the mind "beyond reasoning", I'd like to solicit a bit of feedback.
Can you identify exactly what philosophical axiom you hold as a result of your leap of faith? What is the simplest, most fundamental statement you hold as true that serves as the basis for the framework of your religious belief system? What is the "line 5" in your religious "proof"?
I'd like to reiterate that I pose this question not as a snarky passive-aggressive attack on religious belief, but rather as a philosophical survey. I realize that everyone, religious or not, if they care to trace the lineage of logic of their worldview fully enough, must hold a set of axiomatic beliefs that rest upon a firm bedrock of faith. I believe my senses generally don't lie to me. Descartes believed he existed because he was conscious, sentient, and could direct his thought processes (I can direct my own thought processes to a degree in my nonexistent body that is present only in my mind during dreams...for me his "I think therefore I am" belief is not a good axiomatic belief to hold).
So I want to know: what is the most fundamental statement you can make that rests upon no reasoning other than sheer faith that specifically allows for religion to enter your world?
example (Score:2)
Now, not an irrational belief that can be proven correct (but is not). Rather, come up with an example of an irrational belief that is provably incorrect but has some beneficial result.
Let us not delve into subjectiveness like "killing is bad" which would require a complex set of axioms to prove "correct". (also for something like that one can come up with different sets of axioms allowing it to be proven both true and false)
Let's See if I Can Weasel Out of This One... (Score:2)
Do I have to name something specific, or can I speak in general? If I'm allowed to speak in general, I'd say that anything based on intuition or instinct is irrational. I think this must be true almost by definition...the very act of relying on one's intuition is a consistently irrational behavior.
Hmm...I'm beginning to think that I perhaps meant to use the word arational. Sure, it'd be a word I invented, but the distinction is the same as that which separates immoral from amoral. You dig?
Or would you