October 18, 2007
October 18, 2007: There is actually a very pragmatic reason for why people believe in God. P.I. §472-474: “The character of the belief in the uniformity of nature can be seen most clearly in the case in which we fear what we expect. Nothing could induce me to put my hand into a flame – although after all it is only in the past that I have burnt myself. The belief that fire will burn me is of the same kind as the fear that it will burn me. I shall get burnt if I put my hand in the fire: that is certainty. That is to say: here we see the meaning of certainty. (What it amounts to, not just the meaning of the word “certainty”.)”
It is, in a way, very reasonable to behave in such a way in order to avoid pain. I know what it feels like to be burned, and I am willing to perform some set of actions over and over again (i.e., rituals) in order to avoid being burned. But this is not Mystical Faith. It is its opposite. This is performance, something that sounds akin to the Roman conception of religion. And this does not describe how faith, belief, and religion function today. (Not speaking historically.)
What I am looking for would be something more like a “way of life”. Wittgenstein’s wrong (gasp!) when he says that “nothing could induce me to put my hand into a flame.” Because I would do so if I had been raised to do so. (Sparta)
But this still is not getting close to what I want to know, which is why people feel the need to give reasons for, or to justify, their religious beliefs. And it has something to do with the statement, “The belief that fire will burn me is of the same kind as the fear that it will burn me.” But this does not explain religious belief or faith.
§485: “Justification by experience comes to an end. If it did not it would not be justification.”
What role does doubt play in the sketching out of the structure of these interrelated concepts?
It is, in a way, very reasonable to behave in such a way in order to avoid pain. I know what it feels like to be burned, and I am willing to perform some set of actions over and over again (i.e., rituals) in order to avoid being burned. But this is not Mystical Faith. It is its opposite. This is performance, something that sounds akin to the Roman conception of religion. And this does not describe how faith, belief, and religion function today. (Not speaking historically.)
What I am looking for would be something more like a “way of life”. Wittgenstein’s wrong (gasp!) when he says that “nothing could induce me to put my hand into a flame.” Because I would do so if I had been raised to do so. (Sparta)
But this still is not getting close to what I want to know, which is why people feel the need to give reasons for, or to justify, their religious beliefs. And it has something to do with the statement, “The belief that fire will burn me is of the same kind as the fear that it will burn me.” But this does not explain religious belief or faith.
§485: “Justification by experience comes to an end. If it did not it would not be justification.”
What role does doubt play in the sketching out of the structure of these interrelated concepts?
posted by Joel | 2:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home