5 oct 2011

More Bad Arguments: Religion Has Done More Harm Than Good To Humankind

It may be true that religion has done more harm than good. It would be kind of hard to demonstrate a proposition of the magnitude, because religion is so intertwined with other aspects of human life that it is impossible to conceive of a human history without it.

Even if religion has done harm, or even if it is neutral in its effects, it could still be true. Whether a religious doctrine is true or not is independent of whether it is harmful or beneficial to humanity. Usually, though, religious people want to argue for the benefits of religion (even if it cannot be shown to be true). It is equally fallacious to say that religion is true because we want it to be, as we will see tomorrow.

5 comentarios:

Clarissa dijo...

Now this is a post I really like. :-)

Vance Maverick dijo...

How about "religion is true because it makes one feel good?" That's a case where I'm inclined to grant the premise, at least.

Jonathan dijo...

It always made me feel like crap, but that's just me.

Andrew Shields dijo...

The generalization of the point is true, too: the truth or falsity of some feature of the world is independent of whether or not that feature is good for humanity or any individual.

Vance Maverick dijo...

Agreed. Of course a true believer would simply tell Jonathan he's doing it wrong.

Another delightful variant: religion is appropriate for the masses because it makes them feel good (stay quiet, obey authority, etc.).

Captcha: malts, as in those things that do more than Milton can.