(June 28, 2017 at 3:20 pm)Definitely Disillusioned Wrote: where in an atheistic worldview is there any impetus for this search for truth? From an atheistic point of view, truth has no intrinsic value (if I'm wrong here, I'd love to hear an argument for an intrinsic value of truth from an atheistic perspective), so in an isolated world, there's no reason to search for it apart from whim,
The desire for understanding seems to have some evolutionary foundation. I assume that's why we made up God's to begin with. Trying to explain stuff we can't explain. So I'd guess it's not a world view, as much as biological impulse, to some degree.
As for 'more than a whim', if you're looking to maximize something in life, it's essentially a math problem. And doing math problems is a lot easier if you know the actual numbers in the equation. Truth gives us the actual numbers. Actual data seems preferable to achieving goals than incorrect data. If I want to live a long happy life, maybe smoking cigarretes will make me happy. But if I know they cause cancer and early death, I can factor that into my decision on whether I want to smoke. For myself, life is an issue of practicality. What do I want/not want, how do I best achieve/avoid it.
There are times knowing the truth can be unfortunate. But I'd say it's better to know than not know enough, that further exploration is usually justified. At least in a cushy 1st world setting.
