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Old 03-25-2005, 02:43 AM  
rickholio
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OzMan
Actually the back of my desk looks very similiar, except all that is holding it together is gravity, a smidgeon of dark matter and my thought energy reinforced daily that all is well...
Sounds like a variation on the "Held together with duct-tape, spit and a prayer" theory.

Quote:
Also, good post rickholio. I don't think Jack was entirely saying Religion and Metaphysics should be lumped together as the opposite of Science although I can see some parts that seem to imply this. Religion in its outward, stagnant, dogma encrusted sense is mostly about regurgitating vague shallow concepts. I think of metaphysics as actively and dynamically trying to provide us with increasingly more detailed information on the workings of the stuff that science can't prove yet.
I wasn't trying to be antagonistic, just pointing out that there was a schism between the application of 'religion' as a concept here versus what much of the world considers it. Indeed, I believe that those philosophical pursuits shared by secular and ecumenical thinkers in tandem help propell us forward culturally, by providing us both scientific advancements and a framework in which to digest and control them.

The scary thing is that philosophy lately seems to be getting trumped by 'common wisdom', which is just a code word for intolerance. The philosophical side has been lax in its duties to provide more nuanced and perfected ways of processing our ever more nuanced and complex planet. As a result, witness the resurgence of the "Ignern't and Proud" mob, public support for the purging of 'intellectuals' from various positions of power and other KhmerRouge-esqe precursors. Pointing this stuff out doesn't add much to a conversation about the abstract goals and admixture of religion and science, so I won't drag this point out.

Quote:
But as always it's not the information source, it's what you do with it and if it helps you to live your life better then it works for you.
Assuming that the information given isn't pure bullshit. It'd have to suck if you built a great life only to find out later on that it's all based on a lie.
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