RE: "Why is it reasonable to believe in prisons, but not in the hell?"
January 9, 2021 at 3:04 pm
(January 9, 2021 at 12:45 pm)FlatAssembler Wrote: Well, I do not know how trustworthy those reports about how bad the US is and how bad China is are. Is it reasonable to believe the Trump administration is having concentration camps where they put Hispanics? I think it is not, because the US government is denying that, and governments are, with all their flaws, the best source of information we have. Or whether the Tiananmen Square Massacre happened? Well, I think Tiananmen Square Massacre did not happen either. Chinese government is denying it, and that is probably the best source of information we have. I mean, what incentive do they have to lie when they are so powerful? As well, what happened to the bodies of those who supposedly died on the Tiananmen Square? Not to mention the ironic meanings in names. The name "Tiananmen" means "gate to heaven"... where the victims of the massacre were sent? Hmm...
WTF? I don't know how to parse this. Are you trying to set up a bad argument in order to show up how stupid it is, or is this your own argument?
No-one has to just "trust" anyone. Cross-reference reports, particularly from the time events are happening. Are the reports contradictory? Is there video or photographic evidence? Are there eye-witness reports by sources that appear credible? What are the motivations of those giving the reports? How likely is a conspiracy given that conspiracies fail when too many are in on it? Can a skeptical person dig up evidence on their own?
There are lots of ways that we determine credibility, and trusting a "few" sources is only one way. We tend to assume credibility for reports that are compatible with our world view. That often serves us well, but leaves us vulnerable to liars, unless we are willing to check evidence ourselves.
As for Tienanmen Square, we don't have to rely on governments to tell us anything. I was alive at the time. A government is never your "best source of information", though in democracies with a freedom of the press, lies are often uncovered. When the press is not free (or an alternative propaganda press serves half the country), leaders learn that lying has great advantages.
