(March 30, 2015 at 4:06 pm)Pizz-atheist Wrote: You're coming off as condescending. I don't think you meant to, but it's annoying. Could you relax, given that we all disagree with James anyway?
One of the unfortunate aspects of posting online is that one deals with bare words, and loses the other important aspects of communication. Usually, one judges what someone is intending by tone of voice and body language, which are stripped away in online posts and one is left with just the words. An example that shows the importance of tone of voice and body language is the following:
Yeah, right.
One can state that sincerely, such that one means it literally. That can also be said sarcastically, such that one means the opposite of what the words literally mean. It can also be stated in a tentative way, to express preliminary agreement. There may be other ways as well, but obviously, the bare words are not enough to know what is meant.
Anyway, you are right that I do not mean to seem condescending. I am sorry if it has seemed that way to anyone else.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
