About This Forum: Social Sciences, Moral and Religious

[Beelzebubalicious]

e-pissed-emology?

[Rob Thornton]

That is worth a big grin. Its a bit like reading the likes of David Hume - except you have to hear an obligatory Canadian "ehh" and you don't have to eat haggis

I was looking for a Hume quote - I think I remember one from the treatise on the senses about billiard balls and beer - but since I cannot find it this one is a pretty good one:

"If we take in our hand any volume; of divinity or school metaphysics, for instance; let us ask, "Does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number?" No. "Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence?" No. Commit it then to the flames: for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion."

Best, Rob

[wm]

I was looking for a Hume quote - I think I remember one from the treatise on the senses about billiard balls and beer - but since I cannot find it this one is a pretty good one:

"If we take in our hand any volume; of divinity or school metaphysics, for instance; let us ask, "Does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number?" No. "Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence?" No. Commit it then to the flames: for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion."

Best, Rob

What are we to make then of Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion?

[Rob Thornton]

Hi Wayne, Happy New Year -

If I recall my takeaway was that there is no adequate human measure of the divine - to say or infer otherwise would be deceptive. Of course I was reading allot of Rilke back then too

Best, Rob

[wm]

I was reading allot of Rilke back then too

Best, Rob

That certainly explains a lot, Rob--Happy New Year and Decade

[Beelzebubalicious]

When I see stories like this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...ht/8441813.stm)
I find it hard to understand from a cultural (or a relativist) point of view. Beyond the obvious reactions, I'm always intrigued by how pervasive the belief in spirits and the spirit world is in some countries, even in this "modern" world.

[marct]

When I see stories like this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...ht/8441813.stm)
I find it hard to understand from a cultural (or a relativist) point of view. Beyond the obvious reactions, I'm always intrigued by how pervasive the belief in spirits and the spirit world is in some countries, even in this "modern" world.

Much as I hate to say it, I find it perfectly understandable. One of the things to remember is that "witch doctors", which is a really lousy translation, have traditionally focused on breaking spells and identifying who cast them originally. These people sound more like "sorcerers" that "witch doctors".

Having said that, let me also note that belief in various and sundry "spirit" entities, and the willingness to use rituals based on them, increases during times of social upheavals and social strain. Back in the late 1980's, by way of example, there was a sorcerer operating out of Montreal who charged his clients $2000 per ritual; usually related to economic gain / stability. Another, more "mainstream" example, shows up in the Christian "Prosperity Movement".

BB, I'm not sure you would like what happened to your mind if you could get into the headspace to understand this sort of thing. Speaking from too much personal experience, it can have a very strange effect on your thinking !

Cheers,

Marc