(February 22, 2015 at 12:14 am)kskut Wrote: Just watched a documentary about Dawkins and Strauss...and the DC Reason Rally. But it raised a question for me that I hope someone can answer. Dawkins, et al, seem to equate reason and consciousness, and also seem to argue that reason is the end all and cure all. But isn't reason a subset of consciousness? Logical thought is a useful tool, of course. But I am first, then I think. I feel, I emote, I suffer, and no amount of rational thought will trump feelings of loneliness, love, compassion, wonderment, joy, empathy...otherwise we would just be mechanical thinking machines. Reason and logical thought is only one way to arrive at knowledge and truth. There is another way, which some philosophers call ontological. Of course many of the precepts of "religion" are logically absurd. But for many they ring true on a deeper existential level. Do atheists just ignore the ontological, and therefore remain rooted in 19th Century rationalism?
Reason does not preclude emotions. You might believe it reasonable to get really angry and hit someone.
The world we have built around us is an extension of our evolution, our social artifices (because that is exactly what they are) exist because of our biology - including the discipline of ontology.
There is no need to invoke metaphysics to explain our existence beyond recognising our own desire for there to be something more than patterns emerging from complex biological systems.
This doesn't require reason, it requires clarity.
MM
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
