Hi Sammi!
Congratulations on your victory! You were the most beautiful woman on stage, and we all knew you were going to win a long time before the judges announced their decision.
Do you think that you won because you were the most beautiful? It’s not true. You won because you were the one who wanted to win the most. Everybody was beautiful and everybody wanted to win, but you were the one who reached into your heart, threw away your fears and your doubts, stood up, and dared to believe that you were the most beautiful woman in the world. And that is what made the difference. You showed all of us what a champion’s spirit is – you dared to dream, you decided how to make your dream come true, and then you simply refused to lose.
We wish you good luck in Las Vegas! Of course you can’t control what the judges will decide. Maybe they won’t allow a Chinese girl to win, just because Hooters is an American company. But on the other hand, maybe they will prefer a Chinese girl to win so they can show everyone that “Hooters is a global company”. Either way, don’t lose your self-confidence and keep your champion’s spirit! Of course all those American girls want to win too. But some of us see with a man’s eyes, so trust us when we tell you that you are just as beautiful as any of them. All of the girls in Las Vegas will be beautiful, but I can tell you what will make you a winner – your smile and your eyes. Maybe someone will try to convince you to get cosmetic surgery to improve your chances of winning. But you don’t need it, Sammi – you are already beautiful enough. From your smile and your eyes everyone will be able to see your heart. If you want to win even more than all the other girls, then you will not be afraid to show everyone what’s inside your heart, and you will win in Las Vegas.
Maybe it doesn’t matter so much whether you win or not. A lot of things in life are more important. You have many friends in Hongqiao, both the customers and the other Hooters girls. We all love you! But the important thing is to keep the champion’s spirit in your heart no matter what happens, and don’t let a jealous and resentful world pull you down. Don’t be afraid to fight, because your champion’s spirit will make you a winner in all areas of your life, again and again and again, even though life may be very difficult and painful sometimes.
The moment that you dare to stand up and believe that you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, then you will suddenly discover that you are right – but not a single moment before.
Do you know who Nelson Mandela is? Surely you do. He is a hero from South Africa who was put into prison by the white government because he stood up for freedom for black people. But even in prison he never forgot his dream of a free South Africa, and he never stopped standing up for what was right. After about 30 years he was finally released from prison, and in 1994 he was elected President of South Africa, the same nation that once imprisoned him. This is what he said in his inauguration speech:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “How dare I be brilliant, gorgeous, fabulous and talented?”
Actually, how dare you not be! You are a child of God. Playing small doesn’t serve the world. It doesn’t help anyone to shrink so that other people won’t feel insecure standing next to you. We were meant to shine, as children do. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in all of us.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give permission to others to do the same. We are liberated from our own fear. Our presence automatically liberates others.
Sammi let your light shine for the whole world to see! (-: You are already a chamption in our hearts.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
What Science Will Never Explain: Why We Subjectively Experience Our Lives
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Bear with me for a paragraph or two while I explain a philosophical concept with very immediate relevence to all of us:
Imagine a universe parallel to this one. Exactly the same down to the last molecule, the last event, the last quark. In this universe, at this very moment, there's a parallel Jake Danger writing a parellel blog entry. There is absolutely no difference whatsoever between the two universes. Except one. Parallel Jake (and all the other parallel people) has no subjective consciousness - he's a zombie. Zombie Jake perfectly mimics my actions and can carry on a conversation just as I can. But there's nothing inside - no subjective experience. He has no more subjective conscious than an image in a mirror does.
Scientifically speaking, what is the difference between this parallel universe full of zombies and the universe we actually live in? The only answer can be - none whatsoever. No technique that has ever been devided by (or could ever be devised by) science could ever tell the difference between the two. It is this Zombie Universe that science describes, not the real universe we live in. Subjetive experience is the ghost in the machine, the reality that objectivity-based science ignores because it lacks the tools to investigate it. In a word, the scientific materialists who insist that physicality = existence are confusing the map with the terrain. And that is why materialism can never be a full explanation of the phenomenon of existence - it explains everything except...everything.
Philosophical Gladiators: A Discussion So Deep It Will Make Your Brain Drip Out Your Ears
Anon writes the following in response to my post What Science Can Never Explain: Why We Subjectively Experience Our Lives
Hi Jake. I think we may be talking past each other. Let me try to clarify my position. You said:
“the assumption that consciousness (defined subjectively, not objectively) is a naturally emergent property of the known laws of physics and chemistry cannot be right.”
To which I ask, why not? That’s what you haven’t shown me yet. My view is consistent with what we all experience in daily life, so the burden is on you to show why what seems to be the case isn’t so.
You follow up your assertion that “subjectivity as a naturally emergent property can’t be right” with a statement about it being subjective, and hence not objective. While I agree that, by definition, “subjective” is not “objective” I don’t see why that implies that objective, measurable phenomena can’t _produce_ subjective epi-phenomemna.
Let’s try an other example or two. We can define and measure objectively frequencies of light that we call “colors.” A wavelength of so many nanometers we call “green” and some other number we call “red.” Those wavelengths are measurable quantities in objective reality.
However, the _perception_ of the color “red” is a subjective mental event.
“Redness” in this sense is not directly objectivly measurable. It is indirectly measurable by asking a sighted person “How red does that look to you?”
I claim that physics gives rise to chemsitry that gives rise to biology that gives rise to complex carbon structures in animals called “organs”. These very objective “organs” amongst other things perform the function of “senses” by translating such and so nanometer wavelenghts into the subjective experience of “green.” This subjective experience of green is represented by a very complex arrangement of firing neurons, embedded in some tissue, fed by nutrients etc..etc..etc… Essentially, I claim that subjective greeness is, objectively, a pattern in space and time of firing neurons. That constellation, that pattern, _is_ “subjective greeness”.
In theory, totally measurable and understandable.
What I’m saying is, subjective experience of “green” (and any subjective experience held by a brain) is apparently nothing more than a currently-poorly-understood complex manifestation of understandable, measurable, discrete, objective physical bits.
Change some chemicals arround inside my brain, or re-wire some neurons, or re-write my DNA to give me color-blindness, and suddenly subjective “green” goes away, even though objectively “green” wavelength light is still there. Reverse those physical changes, and *poof* subjective green is back. Seems like a pretty reliable, repeatable test that shows that subjective experience is a (poorly understood) consequence of the arrangements of many atoms and chemicals and structures.
For an other thought experiment, how about I go and ask one of your Zombies if they have subjective experiences? Is Zombie Jake a liar? He doesn’t need subjective experience to have memories and knowledge, and if in all other ways, his universe is the same as ours, he should be able to tell me that he has no internal subjective life. If you tell me that he has different memories or behavior/responses that will cause him to lie, we are back to my original claim that their universe is _not_ quark-identical with ours, and the bits you’ve removed or changed are , by definition, the bits that are theortically testable and measurable to be the ultimate cause of subjectivity. On the other hand, if he answers exactly as you do because his world is _exactly_ like ours, then you haven’t disproved my claim that the subjectivity is just naturally emergent from comprehensible, in theory, known physics.
Cheers.
Dear Anon:
Hi Jake. I think we may be talking past each other. Let me try to clarify my position. You said:
“the assumption that consciousness (defined subjectively, not objectively) is a naturally emergent property of the known laws of physics and chemistry cannot be right.”
To which I ask, why not? That’s what you haven’t shown me yet. My view is consistent with what we all experience in daily life, so the burden is on you to show why what seems to be the case isn’t so.
You follow up your assertion that “subjectivity as a naturally emergent property can’t be right” with a statement about it being subjective, and hence not objective. While I agree that, by definition, “subjective” is not “objective” I don’t see why that implies that objective, measurable phenomena can’t _produce_ subjective epi-phenomemna.
Let’s try an other example or two. We can define and measure objectively frequencies of light that we call “colors.” A wavelength of so many nanometers we call “green” and some other number we call “red.” Those wavelengths are measurable quantities in objective reality.
However, the _perception_ of the color “red” is a subjective mental event.
“Redness” in this sense is not directly objectivly measurable. It is indirectly measurable by asking a sighted person “How red does that look to you?”
I claim that physics gives rise to chemsitry that gives rise to biology that gives rise to complex carbon structures in animals called “organs”. These very objective “organs” amongst other things perform the function of “senses” by translating such and so nanometer wavelenghts into the subjective experience of “green.” This subjective experience of green is represented by a very complex arrangement of firing neurons, embedded in some tissue, fed by nutrients etc..etc..etc… Essentially, I claim that subjective greeness is, objectively, a pattern in space and time of firing neurons. That constellation, that pattern, _is_ “subjective greeness”.
In theory, totally measurable and understandable.
What I’m saying is, subjective experience of “green” (and any subjective experience held by a brain) is apparently nothing more than a currently-poorly-understood complex manifestation of understandable, measurable, discrete, objective physical bits.
Change some chemicals arround inside my brain, or re-wire some neurons, or re-write my DNA to give me color-blindness, and suddenly subjective “green” goes away, even though objectively “green” wavelength light is still there. Reverse those physical changes, and *poof* subjective green is back. Seems like a pretty reliable, repeatable test that shows that subjective experience is a (poorly understood) consequence of the arrangements of many atoms and chemicals and structures.
For an other thought experiment, how about I go and ask one of your Zombies if they have subjective experiences? Is Zombie Jake a liar? He doesn’t need subjective experience to have memories and knowledge, and if in all other ways, his universe is the same as ours, he should be able to tell me that he has no internal subjective life. If you tell me that he has different memories or behavior/responses that will cause him to lie, we are back to my original claim that their universe is _not_ quark-identical with ours, and the bits you’ve removed or changed are , by definition, the bits that are theortically testable and measurable to be the ultimate cause of subjectivity. On the other hand, if he answers exactly as you do because his world is _exactly_ like ours, then you haven’t disproved my claim that the subjectivity is just naturally emergent from comprehensible, in theory, known physics.
Cheers.
Dear Anon:
Thank you for your comment! I live in China, and due to the recent earthquake in Taiwan, China was cut off from the rest of the world internet-wise, so I've been unable to even view my blog for a week.
This entire subject is, in my view, cutting-edge philosophy. There is a lively internet debate going on, and your comment has anticipated some of the views that are being expressed. I find this concept extremely challenging to conceptualize myself, but let me try to respond as best I can:
1. “the assumption that consciousness (defined subjectively, not objectively) is a naturally emergent property of the known laws of physics and chemistry cannot be right.”To which I ask, why not?"
Because the laws of physics and chemistry don't need subjective consciousness in order to provide a 100% complete and accurate description of the physical universe - so by logical extension, there is no particular reason to assert that subjective consciousness exists, any more than there is any particular reason to posit the existence of Thor the Flying Spaghetti Monster . But since subjective consciouness exists anyway (like some sort of free bonus), there must be something wrong with (or incomplete about) the reasoning which falsely states that it doesn't exist. Leading to my ultimate point that materialistic reasoning is incapable of fully describing the universe as we experience it.
The thinking seems to be "subjective consciousness exists, therefore it must be a product of physical processes". But this is an assumption disguised as a conclusion. No mechanism has even been proposed to the best of my knowledge. Sure, science can account for the functions of consciousness, but this is the "easy" problem of consciousness - what you end up with at the end of it all is a mere description of how a given organism will react to a given stimulus - but even a zombie can do that, so materialism remains unable to distinguish between a zombie and a subjectively conscious individual. I would argue that from a materialist point of view, the very existence of subjective consciousness is inexplicable, and that subjective consciousness is by its very essence something that the methods of science (based as they are on objectivity and empericism) are unequipped to study.
2. I would concede your second point (about colors and stuff), but I don't believe that it is fatal to my overall point. I cannot but agree that (at least apparently) physical processes necessarily affect the quality of our subjective perceptions - if I put my hand on a hot stove I'm going to be treated to the subjective experience of pain. But although an analysis of physical processes can successfully predict how my subjective consciousness is going to be affected by a given stimulus (and therefore, what type of subjective experience I will have) , it cannot explain why I have any subjective consciousness to be affected by stimuli in the first place. Zombie Jake, placing his hand on a hot stove, would cry out in pain but he wouldn't experience pain, any more than my mirror image would experience pain as it reflected my anguish.
3. Your third point is perhaps conceptually the most difficult. The crux of the difficulty seems to be:
If Zombie Jake answers "No, I am not subjectively conscious", then the two universes we are comparing would no be physically identical, and those physical differences, even if they are as insignificant as neural firing patterns in Zombie Jake's brain, could be used to provide a measurable physical basis for identifying and recognizing subjective consciousness.
But if Zombie Jake answers "Yes, I am subjectively conscious" - hey, I am telling the truth when I make that statement, but isn't Zombie Jake speaking falsely (although probably not lying, since he is not "aware" that his statement is false)? And if he is speaking falsely, isn't that a difference right there? I would say yes, it's a difference, but not an observable or measurable difference (and thus not a scientifically recognizable difference), because we are assuming that Zombie Jake is subjectively unconscious rather than establishing his unconsciousness on the basis of physical evidence.
But I think that up to now I have still been skating over the surface of the problem. Would Zombie Jake really be speaking falsely if he affirmed that he was subjectively conscious? Would his statement "I am subjectively conscious" be (i) a true statement, (ii) a false statement, or (iii) a statement with no truth value at all?
I have thought about this very question for years, and at this point I am inclined to answer (iii) - the statement would have no truth value at all, because the term "subjective consciousness" can have no meaning in "Zombieland" - but neither would the question, and neither would any other statement or question that could possibly be uttered in Zombieland have any meaning - rather all "meaning" resides in the minds of subjectively conscious beings. Thus it is we, the subjectively conscious "observers" of this imaginary universe who imbue that question, and its answer, with meaning. Thus Zombieland has no truths and no falsehoods until observed (or imagined) by us (whoa, am I getting into quantum physics here? I'm not sure...). And no statement uttered by Zombie Jake could possibly be either "true" or "false" except by reference to an imaginary universe (which would be our universe, from Zombie Jake's point of view)
Another way of describing the same idea: the statement "I am subjectively conscious", uttered by a parakeet mimicking what it heard, would be true from our point of view, but meaningless from the bird's point of view because it was not utttered as a statement but only as a mimicry of what it heard. I can look in the mirror, state "I am subjectively conscious", watch my mirror image utter the same words, and still have no basis for accusing my mirror image of lying (conversely, if I stood in front to the mirror and stated "I am not subjectively conscious, I would have no basis for praising my mirror image for its honesty).
This discussion is taking place at very near upper limit that my meager intellect is capable of, and right now my brain is starting to liquefy and dribble out of my ears...so I might be turning into a zombie soon...make sure to ask me if I'm conscious and see what I say... (-:
By the way, David Chalmers, the philosopher who's probably thought about this problem more than anyone else, maintains (if I understand him correctly) that subjectively consciousness is not derived from physical processes but nevertheless is a natural rather than supernatural phenomenon - he argues that "qualia" (as he calls it) is a natural phenomenon that is just as basic as space, time, and the laws of physics.
Theistic Delusionary Disorder: Our Nation's No. 1 Mental Health Problem
January 2106: American Psychological Association’s yearly White Paper refers to belief in God as a “delusion”. Christian groups protest the “coming wave of persecution”; APA issues an official response that states, “Christian paranoia constitutes further evidence of pathology”.
January 2107: APA White Paper defines a new mental illness - Theistic Delusionary Disorder (“TDD”) – the belief that one can converse with “god” or spirits.
January 2109: APA White Paper revises TDD definition to include any belief in the existence of god, spirits, or the supernatural.
September 2109: Atlanta Center For Disease Control adds TDD to its list of infectious diseases. Coins the term “Dawkins Meme Virus”, which it identifies as the medium of TDD contagion. The Dawkins Meme Virus is the first non-biological virus ever to be identified as a cause of disease in humans.
July 2112: California judge takes 8-year-old daughter away from TTD-infected mother because she was home schooling her using the Bible. Daughter is enrolled one of the 2,100 boarding schools owned by the Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Mother committed to a mental institution (as a “danger to others” based on her attempt to spread TDD to her daughter). Mother sues California under habeus corpus arguing that her First Amendment rights were infringed.
April 2114: Mother vs. California appealed to Supreme Court. Excerpt of Court’s 8-1 decision:
“…a man who claims to be Napoleon may correctly observe that he has a First Amendment right to make this claim; however, the fact remains that such a claim constitutes objective evidence of a scientifically established mental illness. While the First Amendment protects him from punishment, it does not immunize him against treatment. If his illness renders him a danger to himself, commitment to a mental institution may be advisable, and if his illness incapacitates his ability to make an informed decision on treatment, then it is society’s duty to protect him by appointing a guardian (for example, his doctor) to step in and make the commitment decision on his behalf. If he is a danger to others then society has a duty to protect itself, using force if necessary, by compelling confinement and treatment. It is not his statement “I am Napoleon” per se that results in confinement (after all, such a statement made in jest would not result in confinement), but rather the underlying psychosis that his statement evidences.
Correspondingly, the APA has determined that TDD is a mental illness, and the Center for Disease Control has determined that it is infectious (and thus a danger to society). It is not the place of a judge to question the conclusions of qualified mental health professionals. It is, however, our place to clarify the legal issues involved. It is not the plaintiff’s free exercise of her religion that is being “prohibited”, but rather the underlying mental illness (merely evidenced by her “free exercise”) that is being treated...when she regains her mental health, she will likely come to appreciate the wisdom of the authorities in preventing her from infecting her daughter with her own disorder…”
April 2115: The American Bar Association estimates that since the groundbreaking Mother vs. California precedent, over 45,000 TDP sufferers have been committed to mental institutions or compelled to submit to supervised treatment.
June 2115: President R. Dawkins IV, acting on the recommendations recently published by the Universal Tolerance Council, announces the commencement of the “War on TDD”, which he identifies as the nation’s #1 health problem, and proposes funding of over $200 billion over the next five years to expand the number of mental health professionals, educate the public on the dangers of TDD, and to create a nationwide network of “TDD Confined Treatment Clinics” which will more than triple the current bed space in mental institutions.
October 2115: Congress approves $189 billion of the President’s “War on TDD” funding proposal and passes new summary procedures to allow for non-adversarial commitment proceedings to place TDD sufferers in TDD Confined Treatment Clinics based on documentary evidence alone.
December 2115: Supreme Court rules that habeus corpus petitions can only be filed by those charged with a crime, not by those confined for treatment for mental illness.
January 2116: APA’s yearly White Paper hails 2115 as “the most progressive year in the history of mental health treatment”.
March 7, 2116: Cardinal B.S. Lawton, the Vatican’s top official in the United States, is commanded to appear at a commitment hearing based upon a preliminary diagnosis of TDD.
March 9, 2116: Cardinal Lawton declares at his TDD commitment hearing that Catholic doctrine “is an essentially secular ideology that attempts to therapeutically reconcile the Id and the Superego of the believer”. A three-judge panel pronounces Cardinal Lawton mentally healthy and not subject to commitment after Pope Judas I intervenes with a promise that the Vatican will revise its doctrine to more clearly reflect its secular purpose.
March 10, 2006: Jimmy W. Babylon, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, issues a press release stating, “On behalf of all the faithful, the Southern Baptist Convention hereby declares that ‘god’ is not an actual being, but rather a shorthand expression of our highest collective aspirations of peace, harmony, and tolerance.”
November 30, 2116: The Vatican III Statement of Faith, issued by the Catholic Church, states that “the Catholic god is a symbol of the human Superego, not to be understood literally.”
April 20th, 2117: Financial history is made when the Southern Baptist Convention, the ACLU, and the National Council of Churches undergo the largest share merger in the history of the nation to form a new corporation named “The United Church for the Actualization of Human Potential”. Dissenting shareholders of the acquired entities are subject to forced buy-outs at a record premium. New CEO J.W. Babylon signs a renewable employment contract granting him nearly $4 billion in stock options over a five-year period; Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. B.S. Lawton urges employees to “always be willing to go the extra mile to enhance shareholder value.”
January 2118: Congress designates the 20th century John Lennon song Imagine as the nation’s new national anthem. The new “Lennon cent” is issued, replacing “In God We Trust” with the nation’s new official motto, “Above Us Only Sky”. Revisionist historian B.W. Greenwald issues a statement reiterating his controversial claim that Lennon was actually from Alabama.
May 2120: The Department of Citizen Psychosocial Development reports that weekly church attendance in the United States has reached a record high of 86.2%.
November 2120: Reported incidence of TDD among the general population dips below 10%, falling to second place among communicable diseases (below AIDs). The Surgeon General warns against complacency, asserting that the addition of still-unidentified “silent sufferers” may double this figure.
December 2120: A press release issued by the Congressional Budget Office asserts that the government’s 2020 tax revenue from taxes paid by the United Church is projected to exceed tax revenues from all other sources combined.
January 2121: Congress abolishes the Individual Income Tax, replacing it with mandatory shareholding in the United Church and compulsory tithing obligations. It also authorizes the creation of an “Army of Reason & Tolerance” funded and manned by United Church shareholders to defend the nation against “the Forces of Superstition and Ignorance still flourishing abroad.”
March 2121: APA approves the use of electroshock therapy to treat chronic TDD sufferers.
June 2121: APA identifies extreme paranoia as a recently emerging treatment complication of TDD electroshock therapy. Frontal lobotomies are authorized to treat TDD sufferers who fail to respond to electroshock therapy.
November 2123: Congress creates the new crime of Godcraft, defined as the mimicry of any TDD symptoms by mentally healthy individuals for the purpose of financial gain. The terrorist group Christian Underground releases a surprising video in which CU leader Thomas Marshall praises the new law. United Church officials question its authenticity.
October 2125: Terrorist Thomas Marshall, convicted of Godcraft in absentia over last year’s armed entry of a TDD Confinement Clinic and simultaneous kidnappings of 37 TDD sufferers, is captured in a cave in Montana along with 27 of his victims. His lawyer pleads insanity and Marshall is acquitted but committed to a TDD Confinement Clinic. After electroshock and lobotomy treatments, he is pronounced cured of TDD and released into the custody of his mother. Although unable to speak, a written press release is issued on his behalf recanting all belief in supernatural entities and expressing deep contrition for his “demented acts”.
January 2128:The United Church introduces a new Sacrament - the actual brain of Richard Dawkins, secretly preserved in formaldehyde for over 100 years, Exact marble replicas are to be placed at the top of every United Church steeple. The Church also announces that the archaic TDD ritual of Communion will be re-instituted in modified form: Saint Dawkins’ brain will be genetically duplicated and micro-slices will be issued to each United Church outlet and placed in a public shrine for adulation and obeisance under an engraving reading, “This is My brain - partake thereof.” This announcement sparks widespread protests from shareholders objecting to the consumption of a Holy Relic.
October 2128: The United Church’s “Holy Relic Schism” is amicably resolved when the Church agrees to limit Communion consumption of Saint Dawkin’s brain to genetic copies only rather than original brain tissue, thus preserving the Holy Relic in its original form.
November 2128: Thousands flock to the small town of Fouk, Arkansas after a woman discovers an image of St. Dawkin’s brain in the pattern of grease stains on the side of her refrigerator. United Church earns over $117,000 selling T-shirts at the site. The Church buys the refrigerator as well as the site, places a protective seal over the Image, and decrees that all shareholders are thereafter required to make a pilgrimage to the site (First Class on United Churchways) at least once during their lifetimes, in return for which they will be granted an Indulgence to commit at least one Anti-Social Act (excluding any act of Godcraft) within Fouk city limits during the immediately following 30-day period. The slogan “What Happens in Fouk, Stays in Fouk” is adopted for this new fund-raising campaign.
January 2129: The President, speaking in his State of the Union Address, declares that the War on TDD has been “won”, noting that as of December 25, 2128, reported incidence of the disease officially fell below 1% of the general population, virtually all of whom are either enrolled in TDD Confined Treatment Clinics or hiding in underground caverns. Congress designates December 25 as a new national holiday, “Triumph of Reason Day”.
March 2129: The new urban area of Fouk, Arkansas is designated by the Census Bureau as both the fastest-growing city area in the United States and the metropolis with the highest per-capita income.
May 2129: In a stunningly successful raid, TDD terrorists temporarily occupy the Dawkins Mausoleum on the grounds of the United Church World Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, dig up Saint Dawkins’ body, and find it spinning on a vertical axis at the rate of nearly 40 revolutions per minute. After watching a live video feed of this event, an obviously stunned United Church CEO J.W. Babylon is caught on camera commenting, “Maybe there is a God after all…” Church Attorney General Lawton announces the formation of a Grand Jury to investigate whether charges of Heresy, Blasphemy, and Godcraft should be brought against him.
June 2130: The Mausoleum Five are acquitted of Terrorism and Heresy after 15 minutes of deliberation; Dawkins’ body remains uncovered and under 24-hour observation by scientists. The United Church officially changes its Corporate Slogan from “Man is the Measure of All Things” to “Give Glory to God in the Highest”. American Psychological Association removes TDD from its list of mental disorders, adds “Atheistic Delusionary Disorder”. United Church commands shareholders to repent and begins rounding up unbelievers for commitment in mental institutions. At 7:06 a.m. on June 21 a loud groaning sound begins to emanate from the vicinity of Dawkins’ body, at which point its rate of revolution begins increasing exponentially until the centrifugal force causes an earthquake that completely swallows Church Headquarters. Subsequent excavations find no trace of the building but do reveal the site to be an ancient Native American burial ground. Witnesses report hearing periodic giggling from various locations on the site beginning every night as soon as the sun goes down.
January 2107: APA White Paper defines a new mental illness - Theistic Delusionary Disorder (“TDD”) – the belief that one can converse with “god” or spirits.
January 2109: APA White Paper revises TDD definition to include any belief in the existence of god, spirits, or the supernatural.
September 2109: Atlanta Center For Disease Control adds TDD to its list of infectious diseases. Coins the term “Dawkins Meme Virus”, which it identifies as the medium of TDD contagion. The Dawkins Meme Virus is the first non-biological virus ever to be identified as a cause of disease in humans.
July 2112: California judge takes 8-year-old daughter away from TTD-infected mother because she was home schooling her using the Bible. Daughter is enrolled one of the 2,100 boarding schools owned by the Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Mother committed to a mental institution (as a “danger to others” based on her attempt to spread TDD to her daughter). Mother sues California under habeus corpus arguing that her First Amendment rights were infringed.
April 2114: Mother vs. California appealed to Supreme Court. Excerpt of Court’s 8-1 decision:
“…a man who claims to be Napoleon may correctly observe that he has a First Amendment right to make this claim; however, the fact remains that such a claim constitutes objective evidence of a scientifically established mental illness. While the First Amendment protects him from punishment, it does not immunize him against treatment. If his illness renders him a danger to himself, commitment to a mental institution may be advisable, and if his illness incapacitates his ability to make an informed decision on treatment, then it is society’s duty to protect him by appointing a guardian (for example, his doctor) to step in and make the commitment decision on his behalf. If he is a danger to others then society has a duty to protect itself, using force if necessary, by compelling confinement and treatment. It is not his statement “I am Napoleon” per se that results in confinement (after all, such a statement made in jest would not result in confinement), but rather the underlying psychosis that his statement evidences.
Correspondingly, the APA has determined that TDD is a mental illness, and the Center for Disease Control has determined that it is infectious (and thus a danger to society). It is not the place of a judge to question the conclusions of qualified mental health professionals. It is, however, our place to clarify the legal issues involved. It is not the plaintiff’s free exercise of her religion that is being “prohibited”, but rather the underlying mental illness (merely evidenced by her “free exercise”) that is being treated...when she regains her mental health, she will likely come to appreciate the wisdom of the authorities in preventing her from infecting her daughter with her own disorder…”
April 2115: The American Bar Association estimates that since the groundbreaking Mother vs. California precedent, over 45,000 TDP sufferers have been committed to mental institutions or compelled to submit to supervised treatment.
June 2115: President R. Dawkins IV, acting on the recommendations recently published by the Universal Tolerance Council, announces the commencement of the “War on TDD”, which he identifies as the nation’s #1 health problem, and proposes funding of over $200 billion over the next five years to expand the number of mental health professionals, educate the public on the dangers of TDD, and to create a nationwide network of “TDD Confined Treatment Clinics” which will more than triple the current bed space in mental institutions.
October 2115: Congress approves $189 billion of the President’s “War on TDD” funding proposal and passes new summary procedures to allow for non-adversarial commitment proceedings to place TDD sufferers in TDD Confined Treatment Clinics based on documentary evidence alone.
December 2115: Supreme Court rules that habeus corpus petitions can only be filed by those charged with a crime, not by those confined for treatment for mental illness.
January 2116: APA’s yearly White Paper hails 2115 as “the most progressive year in the history of mental health treatment”.
March 7, 2116: Cardinal B.S. Lawton, the Vatican’s top official in the United States, is commanded to appear at a commitment hearing based upon a preliminary diagnosis of TDD.
March 9, 2116: Cardinal Lawton declares at his TDD commitment hearing that Catholic doctrine “is an essentially secular ideology that attempts to therapeutically reconcile the Id and the Superego of the believer”. A three-judge panel pronounces Cardinal Lawton mentally healthy and not subject to commitment after Pope Judas I intervenes with a promise that the Vatican will revise its doctrine to more clearly reflect its secular purpose.
March 10, 2006: Jimmy W. Babylon, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, issues a press release stating, “On behalf of all the faithful, the Southern Baptist Convention hereby declares that ‘god’ is not an actual being, but rather a shorthand expression of our highest collective aspirations of peace, harmony, and tolerance.”
November 30, 2116: The Vatican III Statement of Faith, issued by the Catholic Church, states that “the Catholic god is a symbol of the human Superego, not to be understood literally.”
April 20th, 2117: Financial history is made when the Southern Baptist Convention, the ACLU, and the National Council of Churches undergo the largest share merger in the history of the nation to form a new corporation named “The United Church for the Actualization of Human Potential”. Dissenting shareholders of the acquired entities are subject to forced buy-outs at a record premium. New CEO J.W. Babylon signs a renewable employment contract granting him nearly $4 billion in stock options over a five-year period; Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. B.S. Lawton urges employees to “always be willing to go the extra mile to enhance shareholder value.”
January 2118: Congress designates the 20th century John Lennon song Imagine as the nation’s new national anthem. The new “Lennon cent” is issued, replacing “In God We Trust” with the nation’s new official motto, “Above Us Only Sky”. Revisionist historian B.W. Greenwald issues a statement reiterating his controversial claim that Lennon was actually from Alabama.
May 2120: The Department of Citizen Psychosocial Development reports that weekly church attendance in the United States has reached a record high of 86.2%.
November 2120: Reported incidence of TDD among the general population dips below 10%, falling to second place among communicable diseases (below AIDs). The Surgeon General warns against complacency, asserting that the addition of still-unidentified “silent sufferers” may double this figure.
December 2120: A press release issued by the Congressional Budget Office asserts that the government’s 2020 tax revenue from taxes paid by the United Church is projected to exceed tax revenues from all other sources combined.
January 2121: Congress abolishes the Individual Income Tax, replacing it with mandatory shareholding in the United Church and compulsory tithing obligations. It also authorizes the creation of an “Army of Reason & Tolerance” funded and manned by United Church shareholders to defend the nation against “the Forces of Superstition and Ignorance still flourishing abroad.”
March 2121: APA approves the use of electroshock therapy to treat chronic TDD sufferers.
June 2121: APA identifies extreme paranoia as a recently emerging treatment complication of TDD electroshock therapy. Frontal lobotomies are authorized to treat TDD sufferers who fail to respond to electroshock therapy.
November 2123: Congress creates the new crime of Godcraft, defined as the mimicry of any TDD symptoms by mentally healthy individuals for the purpose of financial gain. The terrorist group Christian Underground releases a surprising video in which CU leader Thomas Marshall praises the new law. United Church officials question its authenticity.
October 2125: Terrorist Thomas Marshall, convicted of Godcraft in absentia over last year’s armed entry of a TDD Confinement Clinic and simultaneous kidnappings of 37 TDD sufferers, is captured in a cave in Montana along with 27 of his victims. His lawyer pleads insanity and Marshall is acquitted but committed to a TDD Confinement Clinic. After electroshock and lobotomy treatments, he is pronounced cured of TDD and released into the custody of his mother. Although unable to speak, a written press release is issued on his behalf recanting all belief in supernatural entities and expressing deep contrition for his “demented acts”.
January 2128:The United Church introduces a new Sacrament - the actual brain of Richard Dawkins, secretly preserved in formaldehyde for over 100 years, Exact marble replicas are to be placed at the top of every United Church steeple. The Church also announces that the archaic TDD ritual of Communion will be re-instituted in modified form: Saint Dawkins’ brain will be genetically duplicated and micro-slices will be issued to each United Church outlet and placed in a public shrine for adulation and obeisance under an engraving reading, “This is My brain - partake thereof.” This announcement sparks widespread protests from shareholders objecting to the consumption of a Holy Relic.
October 2128: The United Church’s “Holy Relic Schism” is amicably resolved when the Church agrees to limit Communion consumption of Saint Dawkin’s brain to genetic copies only rather than original brain tissue, thus preserving the Holy Relic in its original form.
November 2128: Thousands flock to the small town of Fouk, Arkansas after a woman discovers an image of St. Dawkin’s brain in the pattern of grease stains on the side of her refrigerator. United Church earns over $117,000 selling T-shirts at the site. The Church buys the refrigerator as well as the site, places a protective seal over the Image, and decrees that all shareholders are thereafter required to make a pilgrimage to the site (First Class on United Churchways) at least once during their lifetimes, in return for which they will be granted an Indulgence to commit at least one Anti-Social Act (excluding any act of Godcraft) within Fouk city limits during the immediately following 30-day period. The slogan “What Happens in Fouk, Stays in Fouk” is adopted for this new fund-raising campaign.
January 2129: The President, speaking in his State of the Union Address, declares that the War on TDD has been “won”, noting that as of December 25, 2128, reported incidence of the disease officially fell below 1% of the general population, virtually all of whom are either enrolled in TDD Confined Treatment Clinics or hiding in underground caverns. Congress designates December 25 as a new national holiday, “Triumph of Reason Day”.
March 2129: The new urban area of Fouk, Arkansas is designated by the Census Bureau as both the fastest-growing city area in the United States and the metropolis with the highest per-capita income.
May 2129: In a stunningly successful raid, TDD terrorists temporarily occupy the Dawkins Mausoleum on the grounds of the United Church World Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, dig up Saint Dawkins’ body, and find it spinning on a vertical axis at the rate of nearly 40 revolutions per minute. After watching a live video feed of this event, an obviously stunned United Church CEO J.W. Babylon is caught on camera commenting, “Maybe there is a God after all…” Church Attorney General Lawton announces the formation of a Grand Jury to investigate whether charges of Heresy, Blasphemy, and Godcraft should be brought against him.
June 2130: The Mausoleum Five are acquitted of Terrorism and Heresy after 15 minutes of deliberation; Dawkins’ body remains uncovered and under 24-hour observation by scientists. The United Church officially changes its Corporate Slogan from “Man is the Measure of All Things” to “Give Glory to God in the Highest”. American Psychological Association removes TDD from its list of mental disorders, adds “Atheistic Delusionary Disorder”. United Church commands shareholders to repent and begins rounding up unbelievers for commitment in mental institutions. At 7:06 a.m. on June 21 a loud groaning sound begins to emanate from the vicinity of Dawkins’ body, at which point its rate of revolution begins increasing exponentially until the centrifugal force causes an earthquake that completely swallows Church Headquarters. Subsequent excavations find no trace of the building but do reveal the site to be an ancient Native American burial ground. Witnesses report hearing periodic giggling from various locations on the site beginning every night as soon as the sun goes down.
Ideas Have Consequences: Bondage to Tradition, East and West
I am not my own. I belong by birth to a long Chinese tradition that stretches back thousands of years and that hopefully will endure for thousands of years to come, of which I am but a small link. Although I am nothing on my own, within the context of the Tradition I am something, albeit very small. Although I am small, the Tradition is big. Although my life is short, the Tradition lives forever. The Tradition is greater than I am, and it is the Tradition that is the only thing that gives my life any significance beyond scratching for food and comfort for the few short decades of my individual life. I am a physical part of this tradition by virtue of being descended from its founders and being the future ancestor of generations yet to come. Therefore, I belong to the Tradition by birth. It does not belong to me or to “us” (those of us currently alive). Neither does the Tradition belong collectively to me, my countrymen, my ancestors, and my descendents – rather, we all belong to it. This is because the Tradition is not only greater than any one of us, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and thus the Tradition is greater than all of us put together. Yet the Tradition cannot continue to exist unless my countrymen and I continue to follow it. Therefore I have a moral obligation from birth to follow this Tradition, to heed its strictures and principles, and to defend it against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. This is my highest duty in life, and it is more important than whether I am happy or not; it is more important than whether I live or die, and it is more important than whether my family and loved ones are happy or whether they live or die. We must all be willing to sacrifice our individual lives for the sake of the Tradition.
The Tradition was created by the unmatched wisdom of our ancestors, and no one who has come after them or who will ever come after them can match their wisdom. Therefore we must not question Tradition, try to improve it, or try to start another one – to do so would be blasphemy against our Ancestors. Our lives should be dedicated to stability and moderation, and we must avoid risk and innovation in our lives, because the Tradition must be kept stable and unchanging. Our job is to protect what already exists rather than to create something better or try to improve upon what is. Accordingly, except for the abstract concept of Tradition, we must focus on the concrete over the abstract – the maintenance of traditional ways, and the focus on the concrete over the abstract. Money and food are concrete, passionate love is abstract. Passionate love is as dangerous as excessive happiness, because both destabilize us emotionally, distract us from our duty to Tradition, and encourage us to exalt mere transient individuals over the ageless, impersonal, indifferent Tradition.
I have spoken of “Tradition” from the point of view of Chinese because I live in China and have been observing it. Nevertheless, a very similar mentality prevails among the Christian churches in the West, although the tradition is different (I speak as a Christian). The view that what is transcendent is static and unchanging rather than dynamic and vital is the difference, in Christianity, between bondage to the law and the freedom of grace, between Christianity as religion vs. Christianity as relationship, between the Old Testament and the New Testament, between worshipping the Bible vs. worshipping God, and between Christianity as a dead relic with the church as a museum and Christianity as a living faith. God must see mankind as foolish – offer us the precious gift of freedom and we tear the ribbon off the package and bind ourselves with it…
PS To any Chinese readers (or non-Chinese readers with a good knowledge of Chinese culture): I invite you to comment and correct any errors I have made in my understanding of Chinese traditional thinking. I am particularly interested in confirming whether Chinese see their culture as having been created by the ancient sages (Confucius, Mencius, etc.) or having been handed down from Heaven through the ancient sages. What is the ultimate source of a traditional Chinese’s obligation to serve that tradition?
The Tradition was created by the unmatched wisdom of our ancestors, and no one who has come after them or who will ever come after them can match their wisdom. Therefore we must not question Tradition, try to improve it, or try to start another one – to do so would be blasphemy against our Ancestors. Our lives should be dedicated to stability and moderation, and we must avoid risk and innovation in our lives, because the Tradition must be kept stable and unchanging. Our job is to protect what already exists rather than to create something better or try to improve upon what is. Accordingly, except for the abstract concept of Tradition, we must focus on the concrete over the abstract – the maintenance of traditional ways, and the focus on the concrete over the abstract. Money and food are concrete, passionate love is abstract. Passionate love is as dangerous as excessive happiness, because both destabilize us emotionally, distract us from our duty to Tradition, and encourage us to exalt mere transient individuals over the ageless, impersonal, indifferent Tradition.
I have spoken of “Tradition” from the point of view of Chinese because I live in China and have been observing it. Nevertheless, a very similar mentality prevails among the Christian churches in the West, although the tradition is different (I speak as a Christian). The view that what is transcendent is static and unchanging rather than dynamic and vital is the difference, in Christianity, between bondage to the law and the freedom of grace, between Christianity as religion vs. Christianity as relationship, between the Old Testament and the New Testament, between worshipping the Bible vs. worshipping God, and between Christianity as a dead relic with the church as a museum and Christianity as a living faith. God must see mankind as foolish – offer us the precious gift of freedom and we tear the ribbon off the package and bind ourselves with it…
PS To any Chinese readers (or non-Chinese readers with a good knowledge of Chinese culture): I invite you to comment and correct any errors I have made in my understanding of Chinese traditional thinking. I am particularly interested in confirming whether Chinese see their culture as having been created by the ancient sages (Confucius, Mencius, etc.) or having been handed down from Heaven through the ancient sages. What is the ultimate source of a traditional Chinese’s obligation to serve that tradition?
Bible Worship vs. True Christianity
“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of me, and ye will not come to me that ye might have life.” - Jesus Christ (John 5:39-40)
The Bible is like a finger pointing towards Jesus. What happens when you try to point something out to a dog? He looks at your finger, of course. And that is what most of the Christian church is doing today - they study the finger, they talk about the finger, they do everything but pray to the finger, which is why the church has lost its way. Much of the fuel for the “positive atheism” movement comes from disgust at the greed, hypocrisy, and mindlessness of the modern church. Bible worship is idolatry, and people like Ted Haggard have done more to advance the cause of atheism than Richard Dawkins could ever do.
A word to the “fundamentalists”: Look in the mirror and ask yourself who you most resemble: the apostles who died for Jesus, or the Pharisees who killed Him? The Pharisees were the “fundamentalists” of their day.
“A dog returns to its own vomit.” 2 Peter 2:22
“Come out of her, my people, so that you do not take part in her sins, and so that you do not share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” —Revelation 18:4-5
The Bible is like a finger pointing towards Jesus. What happens when you try to point something out to a dog? He looks at your finger, of course. And that is what most of the Christian church is doing today - they study the finger, they talk about the finger, they do everything but pray to the finger, which is why the church has lost its way. Much of the fuel for the “positive atheism” movement comes from disgust at the greed, hypocrisy, and mindlessness of the modern church. Bible worship is idolatry, and people like Ted Haggard have done more to advance the cause of atheism than Richard Dawkins could ever do.
A word to the “fundamentalists”: Look in the mirror and ask yourself who you most resemble: the apostles who died for Jesus, or the Pharisees who killed Him? The Pharisees were the “fundamentalists” of their day.
“A dog returns to its own vomit.” 2 Peter 2:22
“Come out of her, my people, so that you do not take part in her sins, and so that you do not share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” —Revelation 18:4-5
Monday, March 12, 2007
Is Religious Faith Circular Reasoning?
I frequent Richard Dawkin's website just to keep up with what the debate on atheism. The forums can get pretty hot over there. I read a comment by a Christian that stated, "Faith is the opposite of fear", to which I can only agree. An atheist replied, "No, faith is the opposite of reason!". That was an "a-ha!" moment for me - I suddenly realized why so many atheists mock "faith". They don't undertand what it is - they've got their own definition. They're attacking a straw man. Sadly, walk into a church today and it's surprisingly hard to find anyone who understands what faith is. If faith were what this particular atheist thinks it is, I would mock it too.
So what is faith? Is it:
1. Geographic/Cultural/Family Background Determinism - "I was raised that way"?
So if you'd been raised a Hindu would the "truth" have turned out differently?
2. Circular Reasoning - "I read it, so it must be true." ?
"I know the Bible is true because the Bible says the Bible is true, and since the Bible never lies, it must be telling the truth when it says it's the truth; therefore...")
"I know the Koran is true because the Koran says the Koran is true, and since the Koran never lies, it must be telling the truth when it says it's the truth; therefore..."
"I know the [insert holy book here] is true because the [insert holy book here] says the [insert holy book here] is true, and since the [insert holy book here] never lies, it must be telling the truth when it says it's the truth; therefore..."
3. Hell Insurance - "I'm afraid not to believe." ?
Since the idea of rotting in the grave is not nearly as scary as the idea of burning in Hell forever, isn't believing the safest thing to do? Believing in what? Couldn't a Muslim say the same thing?
Any 'faith' that can't distinguish between two contradictory belief systems is not one I'd be willing to bet my soul on.
Genuine Faith
Ironically, the best illustration of what Christian faith was meant to be (in my understanding) came from an atheist, Carl Sagan. Here is a quote from Dr. Arroway, a character in his novel "Contact":
"My faith says that the amplitude of a free pendulum--how far it'll swing away from the vertical position--can never increase. It can only decrease. I'm willing to go out there, put the bob in front of my nose, let go, have it swing away and then back toward me. If my beliefs are in error, I'll get a five-hundred-pound pendulum smack in the face. Come on. You want to test my faith?"
Click here for more passages from "Contact" dealing with the relationship between faith and reason.
Dr. Arroway proceeded to pass her test of faith (although it gave her quite a scare to see that five-hundred-pound pendulum rushing at her face). Of course she had no faith in God, but she did have faith in the laws of physics - genuine faith, although not a saving faith (because the laws of physics can't get you into Heaven!). This example illustrates two ingredients which I believe are characteristic of a strong, genuine faith:
(1) It has a reasonable basis (there must be enough evidence to indicate that it is more likely than not to be true).
(2) It requires courage (after all, you can't see the 'laws of physics any more than you can see God!).
Another story I once heard that illustrates faith quite well involves a man and his wife being taken on a tour of the U.S. Mint in Denver. The guide brought out a pail of molten metal and told them that if you wet your finger with saliva, you could dip your finger in the pail without burning yourself as long as you removed it quickly. Then he asked them if they wanted to try. The husband begged off: "I believe you, but..." The wife just smiled, wet her finger, and dipped it in into the pail.
The husband didn't think the guide was a liar - he believed him (as the term "believe' has been defined in modern times), but only the wife had faith. That illustrates the third feature of what I understand genuine faith to be:
(3) It always responds with action.
Faith is not created by action (in fact it must precede the action), but action is the only way to prove it - to yourself or to anyone else.
So how can a Christian have faith that the Bible is true without resorting to the cowardly exercise in circular reasoning described above? I would argue that it must begin with sceptcism - reason, believe it or not (and no, atheists do not have a copyright on either of those words). Scepticism doesn't mean "I only believe what I can see." Some (not all) atheists are pseudo-sceptics - "I don't believe in God because I can't see him". But they believe in radio waves, electrons, magnetism... Rather, sceptiscim means "prove it to me". And the stronger the original scepticism, the stronger the resulting faith will be. Reason is not neccessarily science, strictly speaking - all science is reason, but not all reason is science.
I don't believe in God because the Bible says so. Rather, I believe the Bible is true because God says so. I couldn't believe until I had outside corroboration - I needed evidence from outside the Bible in order to believe that the Bible was true (for details on the nature of this evidence, see my blook Warrior Poet).
Any commentators out there? Anyone of any belief is welcome to comment. Why do you believe whatever it is that you believe? What do you think faith is?
Next Post on this subject: The Microevolution vs. Macroevolution Distinction: Is It Artificial?
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