[MD] The End of Faith

[Ham Priday]

Greetings, Ron --

> When you boil it down there is only a relative certainty about any
> observable phenomena. Science and religion make attempts at
> understanding reality. They both play the same role.
> Simplifying and projecting to grasp and relate, this is what we do.

Amen, Ron!  Steve should post this on his refrigerator.

We live in a differentiated world where truth, morality, values, reason, and 
subjectivity are relative.  That makes us free to draw our own conclusions 
from the values we cherish.  It is unfortunate that Pirsig's equation 
Quality=Morality has fostered the notion that the universe is totally moral. 
Morality is an invention of man: what is good or bad in this amoral world is 
defined in terms of what is good or bad for man.  That makes man's reality 
anthropocentric, and each individual an autonomous agent of value.

Empirical "proof" for the truth of a belief, fact, or principle of existence 
consists of
three kinds of validation: objective evidence, establishing the consistency 
and predictability of the evidence, and universal consensus based on 
repeated testing of the data by others.  This is the methodology of Science. 
It assures that scientific pronouncements are consistent with the empirical 
paradigm of objectivism.  While objective knowledge is important in 
standardizing the parameters of the physical world for utilitarian purposes, 
it does NOT establish absolute verification of Truth.

It is proper to say that our belief in scientific precepts is founded on 
reason, whereas religious or mystical beliefs may rely on intuitive insight 
or logical abstraction.  But because the physical world is itself relative, 
any truth we derive from it must also be relative.  Therefore, belief in 
scientific evidence, philosophical theory, or religious dogma is always 
"faith-based".   Or, to put it another way, without faith we can have no 
beliefs.

Essentially yours,
Ham