Thread: Belief is the death of thought.

I believe Robert A Wilson was the first to say that...

Discuss.

I fail to understand his reasoning.

Explain.

Makes perfect sense to me. Blind, ignorant beleif and things that are explained as having been created by a higher power, just because we can't think of the answer, or tradition tells us to blindly beleive and stubbornly deny anythin esle, even when the real answer is out there, certainly is the death of thought...and you know, I think it's sad. I am not fully agnostic now, I have a faith, but in no way do I beleive anymore...I do it for the tradition (and holiday foods). :p

I agree with the sentiment, but would want to clarify the use of the word "belief." It's believing and giving up looking at evidence to the contrary that is the death of thought. If we use belief to simply mean a held assumption, it doesn't fit the underlying idea in my mind. Having no assumptions certainly isn't thinking either.

Yes, this makes sense.

When you believe, you do not think about it. You just accept it as fact without any real reason.

std::

I disagree. I hold a faith and I find my self observing the things around me and asking how this or that fits into my faith. I also think belief can foster the growth of knowledge among serious debators because they might be looking at scientific lit. to find scietific grounds for the faith. I can't count the number of times I came here because of the discussion of faith and read somthing that caused me to try and expand the perimeters of my knowledge.

Originally Posted by grasshoppa

I believe Robert A Wilson was the first to say that...

Discuss.

Hell yeah! You are the first Robert Anton Wilson fan I have talked to about him on this site. I have brought him up a bunch of times here, but even Illuminati believers don't know who I'm talking about. Cosmic Trigger Vol. 1: Final Secret of the Illuminati is my favorite book of all time. I love that stuff.

Wilson says early on in Cosmic Trigger that he has been attacked by a lot of people who say that he believes in this and that. So he clarified his position by saying, "I don't believe in anything." He said all he knows is that something is going on but he is not sure exactly what it is. Then he went on to talk about the most insane stuff I have ever heard of, and it is so damn interesting.

I think belief is fine, as long as you leave a spec of room for error on everything. Belief helps people explore their own ideas passionately and effectively. A complete absence of belief stifles the exploration of ideas because none of it sticks as making good sense. As a result, you lack drive to look much further. But being completely convinced of everything you "believe" stifles intellectual exploration even more.

Originally Posted by grasshoppa

Belief is the death of thought.

that statement assumes that you cannot believe and think nor think and believe at the same time... i suppose that makes this statement bombastic.