4 oct 2011

More Bad Arguments-I believe it because it is absurd

Imagine an argument between two theologians. You are listening to them going back and forth. How do you know which one is right? They can appeal to nothing but the discourse of other theologians. One might have a more cogent interpretation of some other, previous theologian, but there is no way of saying that one is closer to the truth in any absolute sense. They are arguing about something that nobody knows anything about. You can't even say that the one with the most consistent, non self-contradictory argument is gaining the upper hand, because self-contradiction can be a winning move in the game. Credo quia absurdum est.

1 comentario:

Vance Maverick dijo...

I'm somewhat sympathetic to this one, and to the last -- because I understand the strength of the feeling of fervent belief, and I do think there's some permanent value to that feeling. Even though, of course, I reject all the attempts I know of to translate that value into objective terms.