Rational Donkey

[ManofGOD]

This interesting article contains a parable about a donkey which lives by reason alone... and dies!

Www://Beliefnet.Com/faiths/2008/09/three...faith.Aspx

[Darwinian]

Imagine a donkey equidistant between two barrels of hay. Now imagine that this donkey is a rationalist, someone who will do nothing if it is not in accord with the dictates of reason. He cannot reason why one mound of hay is superior to the other. He stays in the middle trying to decide which should be his supper. Since there is no reason to move to one or the other, in time, the donkey starves to death.

Then the donkey does not live by reason or logic alone. He is stupid. If the two barrels of hay are identical then the logical thing to do would be to pick one at random. The illogical thing to do would be to starve to death.

Who ever came up with this as an example is a bit soft in the head..

You could say..

Imagine a donkey equidistant between two barrels of hay. Now imagine that this donkey is a fundamentalist, someone who will do nothing if it is not in accord with the dictates of pure faith. He cannot understand why one mound of hay is superior to the other and concludes they are evil. He stays in the middle praying for guidance. Since there is no answer, in time, the donkey starves to death.

[CoxRox]

lol, Darwinian- you are funny, that's tickled me.........(I mean that sincerely not in a sarcastic way).

[Darwinian]

Thank you I do my best...

[Tiberius]

That was a pretty stupid story to be honest.

[Edwardo Piet]

Even if the story WAS valid (and it IS NOT) it would STILL be far far far FAR better to follow reason than faith. Are you saying that not only do you believe that faith is absence of evidence but it is also absence of reason/better than reason?
ManofGOD I thought you thought that your "Faith" was just another kind of reason not absence of reason?
I however think faith is totally blind, ignorant and irrational. You need evidence not faith.

[ManofGOD]

Even if the story WAS valid (and it IS NOT) it would STILL be far far far FAR better to follow reason than faith. Are you saying that not only do you believe that faith is absence of evidence but it is also absence of reason/better than reason?
ManofGOD I thought you thought that your "Faith" was just another kind of reason not absence of reason?
I however think faith is totally blind, ignorant and irrational. You need evidence not faith.

Having faith is not the absense of reason. Remember, GOD loves truth and logic, but one cannot live by reason alone.

Even an atheist must have a little faith just to get up in the morning to face the day. Do you not have faith that other drivers will not knock you on the road?

[Edwardo Piet]

Even if the story WAS valid (and it IS NOT) it would STILL be far far far FAR better to follow reason than faith. Are you saying that not only do you believe that faith is absence of evidence but it is also absence of reason/better than reason?
ManofGOD I thought you thought that your "Faith" was just another kind of reason not absence of reason?
I however think faith is totally blind, ignorant and irrational. You need evidence not faith.

Having faith is not the absense of reason. Remember, GOD loves truth and logic, but one cannot live by reason alone.

Even an atheist must have a little faith just to get up in the morning to face the day. Do you not have faith that other drivers will not knock you on the road?

I swear you said on another thread though that "Faith is the absence of evidence", so you agree with that? Does God not love evidence?

[Kyuuketsuki]

Even an atheist must have a little faith just to get up in the morning to face the day. Do you not have faith that other drivers will not knock you on the road?

Like many words in the English language, faith has more than one meaning and in the example you give (rather pathetically IMO) the faith you talk of actually equates to confidence or trust not the blind faith of belief in invisible beings.

Kyu

[Tiberius]

Having faith is not the absense of reason. Remember, GOD loves truth and logic, but one cannot live by reason alone.

Faith is most often defined as a belief not based on evidence or proof. It is therefore not reasonable, since a reason has to justify a belief with evidence. Also, your God doesn't seem very powerful if it can't live by reason alone...the rest of the universe seems to work that way.

Even an atheist must have a little faith just to get up in the morning to face the day. Do you not have faith that other drivers will not knock you on the road?

Again, this isn't faith. I know that the sun will rise/set because we know about the Earth's orbit, and that it has been this way for many many years. The chances of me getting knocked down are also very low, and I know that if I pay attention this chance decreases because I am more alert and I will see hazards. This I know from personal experience (all the accidents in my youth combined).

It isn't faith.