Ethics (Religion)

by dhw, Wednesday, October 08, 2008, 13:29 (5915 days ago) @ Carl

Carl quoted a study by David Dunning, which found that "incompetent people are generally not aware of their own incompetence." He goes on to say: "...the skills that constitute competence are often the very ones needed to recognize incompetence." - Thank you for passing this on. It seems to me very relevant to many of the topics we've been discussing, if we simply extend the principle to matters of belief. One might say that prejudiced people are generally not aware of their own prejudice. Once a belief is firm, for whatever reason, people are often reluctant to seriously consider any evidence that requires them to shift their attitude. - David Turell has frequently pointed out that science is not just a matter of investigation but also of interpretation, and the forces that influence that interpretation need not be rational. There are huge gaps in our knowledge, and since we can't fill them with facts, we fill them with suppositions, hopes, probabilities, possibilities etc. The atheist is no more and no less dependent on this procedure than the theist, and even the agnostic may be just as liable unconsciously to select the evidence in accordance with what best suits his lack of commitment. One might say the skills that constitute objectivity are often the very ones needed to recognize subjectivity, and I wonder how many of us have them.

Tags:
Prejudice