[MD] Food for Thought

[David M]

Ian said to Arlo:
> When you say
> But this is not without its pitfalls. For example, we consider the "belief 
> in
> god" to be a social pattern, but the "belief in physics" to be an 
> intellectual
> pattern.
... believing (faith-based belief) in a religious god, is just as mental
> an activity as having faith in other forms of rationality.


DM: I think there is a possible distinction here, in that
religion is often accepted due to tradition and authority
from parents and community. At least with science it
may come from teachers or books written by scientist
so they may have some professional status in society
to support what they are handing down. Obviously we
get into real intellect when you are really assessing ideas
on the basis of their intellectual qualities and with as
little faith in authority as is possible. But we always
accept some authority and what we are being told,
because we cannot rely only on our own experience.
But we certainly need to question the basis on which
we accept the knowledge and intellectual authority of
others. Its usually quite easy to differentiate the truth
seekers from the power seekers.