Belief (Evolution)

by xeno6696 , Sonoran Desert, Thursday, January 06, 2011, 22:28 (5068 days ago) @ dhw

Dhw,
> 1) Matt, when you say you accept evolution by NS, do you also accept that there are huge gaps in the theory of evolution as a whole? -Of course. By gaps, I mean, things that are not fully explained or realized.-
> 2) If you accept a theory which is riddled with uncertainties and unanswered questions, because you think there is nothing better or more powerful, on what grounds do you criticize David for doing the same (nothing else makes sense to him)? 
>-As I've said several times: epistemology. It is intrinsically unreasonable to put belief in something when it is not supported by positive evidence. I recognize that this is a normative stance, but all of our views stem from norms.- 
> My motive in asking these questions is also twofold. I'm interested in whatever explanations anyone has for innovation, because the general theory has greatly influenced my own thinking. 
> 
> But I'm also interested in why and how people believe (and I take "accept" to mean "believe"). I myself can't believe something if I see flaws or gaps in the reasoning or evidence, whereas most other contributors to this forum evidently can. That's not a criticism. In this context, any intelligent person with a firm belief has to be aware that there are gaps. It's a matter of how people cope with them. And so I'm really asking: how do people gain a genuine inner conviction (= belief, as opposed to a "maybe") that something is true, even when they know there are gaps in the pattern?-I do not semantically equate belief with acceptance. The latter is a much weaker word. You believe in a cause... there's a connotation of fervency in that word that I distance myself from. I accept evolution by NS, because as a comprehensive theory goes, we do not presently have a more thorough explanation.


--
\"Why is it, Master, that ascetics fight with ascetics?\"

\"It is, brahmin, because of attachment to views, adherence to views, fixation on views, addiction to views, obsession with views, holding firmly to views that ascetics fight with ascetics.\"