I don't have any problem with religions, beliefs, rationalism,
any kind of ideology.* I just want people to be civil while also
feeling free to express their opinions about things. I'd
consider myself an anti-dichotomist - or anti-platonist.* I
don't believe there is a perfect world of ideals that is
timeless and immortal and exists outside of spacetime. People
can discuss things as if it's true, just to make differences
clear.* But the history of Western Civilization has people
debating endelessly on this plane that, personally, I don't
believe really exists. Well wait, yes, it does exist but as
cognitive processes, as taken within our historical and
sociocultural context that we're working out of . That was a
mouthful, poorly worded -sorry :) My favorite trick when talking
to new atheists is to break out the history of atheism, or a
link to 19th century conflict thesis... I used to mention
Dawkins but that's kind of their personal hero... and stepping
on the toes of Saints is a no-no with any religion. My
tendancies are towards embodied cognition (or some form of it) -
rather there being a separation between mind and body.* At the
same time, I'll happily discuss things as if there is such a
thing as pure ideas (like discussions about mathematics and
such)... but then when the ideas go "too far" for my liking
(like: the Universe is Math)... then I have to pull out the
religious nature of such concepts and that it's part of their
belief system... "Pure reason" didn't fall out of the sky as far
as I'm concerned.* It's part of a historical development in
human conceptual development, philosophized and practiced by the
Ancient Greeks and nearly everything that grew off of them are
embedded within the assumptions of our societies and cultures of
today. They do have a biological basis... and with that, the
amygdala wins.* Emotion drives reason primarily.* I love pulling
that one out of my hat and describing the circuitry (as I
understand it).* Takes the "pure reason" and shoots it out of
the water :P
