reason vs faith vs reality

[max-greece]

ok in this ongoing debate there is no resolution when the terms are not defined. Even then there will be no resolution because it is being driven by emotion and survival instincts rather than informed comprehension.

First the problem must be addressed from the point of divergence which is not at the point of either reason or faith but of reality. Reality is not, as we always assume, some objective verifiable entity. It is an abstract concept created by the human mind.

Reality for a human being would certainly be different from that for a dog or an electron. Between human beings our perception of reality would largely be common, or could be expected to be due to the commonality of the senses that interpret the world around us.

Plants, rocks, water, air, and animals do not have Reality, they have merely existence. Even animals with mind and consciousness do not experience reality but only existence. Reality did not exist until the human mind worked itself up from manipulation of mental objects (as all sentient creatures do) to construction of mental ideas and thoughts (also common in sentient creatures) and then from thoughts and ideas constructed abstractions leading to abstractions as fully formed mental objects themselves to be manipulated to construct whole worlds and universes of philosophy, science, and yes, religions.

Its difficult to argue the difference between existence and reality. You can argue the difference between existence and the perception of reality which is what I think you are doing. Note that in referring to abstractions you are actually acknowledging reality as you differentiate them.


Both faith and reason are just mental tools we have constructed to manipulate and create our mental worlds and our realities - yes plural - one size does not fit all. We are all constructing and experiencing different realities based on different data sets, using different mental tools and different methods of construction of reality.

The tools, I think, are actually common largely, across humanity. The means of implementing them varies wildly. We can all identify the colour green for example - even if we don't all see it the exact same way. Neither faith nor reason define our reality - they seek to explain it.

The thing is, you can't say one reality is more "real" than the other. Reality is an abstraction which we create, which corresponds to our subjective lived experience. We only trade in one reality for another when our current constructed reality starts to break down in the face of that business of raw existence itself - which can totally disrupt our mental abstract constructs at times.

Well patently you can say one reality is more real than another. Many people spend months in on-line virtual realities which are ultimately less real than the one that requires you to eat and drink to stay alive.