[MD] Probability

[david buchanan]

Hello MOQers:

Peter said to Case:
It is only in philosphy forums that people talk about having faith that the 
sun will rise tommorrow; in any other situation it is never considered, it 
is an arificial use of language. I expect the sun will rise tommorrow but I 
don't have faith that it will. Faith always stinks of religion to me. Having 
faith in something is a waste of energy. Better to gather your information 
and then make a considered guess about the future.

dmb says:
I'm with Peter here. Faith, by definition, is a belief held in the absence 
of evidence. The amount of evidence supporting the belief in tomorrow's 
sunrise is more than ample and so requires no faith.

And, intentional or not, using faith to describe the belief in tomorrow's 
sunrise only has the effect of putting religion and wishful thinking on the 
same level as astrophysics. Using faith that way defies the definition of 
the word and undermines the distinction between high and low quality ideas. 
It demonstates a lack of concern for intellectual clarity and scientific 
truth. Or, as Princeton Philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt would put describe 
it, this use of the word "faith" is bullshit.

Or so it seems to me.

Thanks.
dmb

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