One of the things that I find to be so interesting about people is that we are all so different. We may have many things in common. We may be from the same country, share similar cultural upbringing, language and have a multitude of shared experiences but at the same time our perspectives on life can be so different.
In general I think that most people think that their beliefs and values are based upon logic and reason. However I also suspect that few of us have spent any real time analyzing why we believe what we believe. Often our beliefs stem from what our parents taught us and what was considered to be socially acceptable. Neither of these suggest that the beliefs are indeed based upon logic and it is entirely reasonable to suggest that a substantial percentage do not have their basis there.
Examples of this can be found in reactions and beliefs about suicide bombers, lawsuits and war. There are people who believe that it makes sense to try and prosecute their position by sending people to die. They think that it makes sense to turn a human into a bomb and that this is a logical way of enacting change. There are people who think that the only way to build a consensus on various positions is to use the legal system to force a legal understanding of a position etc.
And of course there are people who oppose all of these actions because they all seem illogical to them.
If you are the kind of person who enjoys thinking and wants to engage in a little cerebral exercise may I recommend that you try the following. Think about your religious and political beliefs and then try to write a short summary of each and why they make sense and are logical and rational.
If you have never done this before you may be surprised at what you come up with. Incidentally I don’t think that everything a person believes in has to be based upon logic some things are nothing more than faith and there is a place for that too.
Ezzie,
I am sure that there are many who have spent time thinking about the who, what and whys but I have a hard time believing that there are that many who have spent any real time thinking. Call me a snob, but that is my position.
Q,
That is a post in and of itself.
JB,
I hear you.
Michael,
Thanks for clearing that up for us. 🙂
I’d love to do some cerebral excerise but my brain feels pretty fried right about now. Reagrding the last point you made you are dead on. Remember when the Jews excepted the torah it was naseh v’nishma not the other way around.
Michael, thanks for setting me straight. Q, from Ottawa left a note today, so I figured I got my Qs confused.
back up the truck…that is not the real “Q” we all know. The “Q” we all know is from Ottawa not New York City.
“Q” is still alive (moose and all)
Nice post.
Q, what happened to the moose?
I am a big fan of how Nuture(as in Nuture vs Nature) changes us.
You’d be surprised. Some of us have done so before – starting from scratch, creating a society, and why different factors would be neccessary in such a society. It’s a lot more logical than you may imagine…