Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!mimsy!oddjob!hao!ames!lll-lcc!pyramid!thirdi!sarge From: sarge@thirdi.UUCP (Sarge Gerbode) Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.tech Subject: Re: The nature of knowledge Message-ID: <66@thirdi.UUCP> Date: Thu, 23-Jul-87 00:06:23 EDT Article-I.D.: thirdi.66 Posted: Thu Jul 23 00:06:23 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 25-Jul-87 04:28:59 EDT References: <58@thirdi.UUCP> <2401@ihlpl.ATT.COM> Reply-To: sarge@thirdi.UUCP (Sarge Gerbode) Distribution: world Organization: Institute for Research in Metapsychology Lines: 24 Keywords: truth knowledge belief absolutes certainty Summary: Believing is not illogical In article <2401@ihlpl.ATT.COM> rsl@ihlpl.ATT.COM (Richard S. Latimer ) writes: >If believing is an act of accepting as true without or in spite of >evidence, then it is by its nature illogical.... >An interesting question (to me) is why does anyone choose to >believe, since it is clearly illogical? Any thought? Believing is no more illogical than breathing or eating. What can be illogical are one's *reasons* for believing, but they need not be. People choose to believe because life cannot be lived without believing. For instance, one cannot walk without believing that one can do so. One cannot go to work without believing that the workplace still exists and that one still has a job. Sometimes one's beliefs turn out to be wrong. That is also part of life, a part one tries to minimize. One cannot stop believing; one can only improve one's *criteria* for belief. -- "Absolute knowledge means never having to change your mind." Sarge Gerbode Institute for Research in Metapsychology 950 Guinda St. Palo Alto, CA 94301 UUCP: pyramid!17:4.EDU> wh