Project Reason is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. The foundation draws on the talents of prominent and creative thinkers in a wide range of disciplines to encourage critical thinking and erode the influence of dogmatism, superstition, and bigotry in our world.
I’ve never really paid much attention to things outside of my own personal life, but as I get older and the outside world becomes ever more important, I feel that I should start taking notice of the things going on in the world. I’ve always been interested in philosophy, psychology and science, but I’ve lacked the patience to seriously pursue these interests until recently; I’m 28 and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life ignorant to the really interesting and important things in life! I want to start doing and getting involved in things that matter, not just to me, but to people like myself, people who want to make a difference. I want to learn, spread knowledge and ultimately, make the world a better place in any way I can.
I have been inspired by Sam Harris, the late Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Lawrence Krauss; These gentleman personify critical thinking and what it is to be skeptical of the world around us. These men have all made a huge impact in my life and surely in the lives of millions! I simply wish to augment my life with the courage to challenge the world the way these men do and in the process, gain some understanding of the bigger picture. I simply cannot allow myself to continue to meander in this fog of ignorance, I seek clarity. My eyes are open now. I am a skeptic and I will question everything.
I look forward to learning from my fellow skeptics and making some friends in the process. I submit to you my mind; May you all fill it with knowledge.
I’ve never really paid much attention to things outside of my own personal life, but as I get older and the outside world becomes ever more important, I feel that I should start taking notice of the things going on in the world. I’ve always been interested in philosophy, psychology and science, but I’ve lacked the patience to seriously pursue these interests until recently; I’m 28 and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life ignorant to the really interesting and important things in life! I want to start doing and getting involved in things that matter, not just to me, but to people like myself, people who want to make a difference. I want to learn, spread knowledge and ultimately, make the world a better place in any way I can.
I have been inspired by Sam Harris, the late Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Lawrence Krauss; These gentleman personify critical thinking and what it is to be skeptical of the world around us. These men have all made a huge impact in my life and surely in the lives of millions! I simply wish to augment my life with the courage to challenge the world the way these men do and in the process, gain some understanding of the bigger picture. I simply cannot allow myself to continue to meander in this fog of ignorance, I seek clarity. My eyes are open now. I am a skeptic and I will question everything.
I look forward to learning from my fellow skeptics and making some friends in the process. I submit to you my mind; May you all fill it with knowledge.
Welcome. Seeking well-adjustedness through skepticism is healthy. Clarity demands much emotional and cognitive effort. PR is a great tool. But like slynn said, a big part of being a skeptic is reliance on your own judgement capacity. The people you mentioned are a good start.
[ Edited: 04 August 2012 11:04 AM by jobyrne8989 ]
Actually, I have a very good capacity for skepticism and reason already. I’ve been an Agnostic for almost my entire life and only this year did I become an Atheist. I’ve questioned many things that I’ve heard from the men I mentioned in my original post, but as I possess very limited knowledge in the subjects that each of those said men are learned in, my skepticism only gets me so far, both in their assertions of such subjects and in my own beliefs. Common sense is something of a rarity and though I’m probably not as well-informed as most of the people on this forum, that doesn’t mean my own common sense is diminished, but rather not as fine-tuned.
I’ve simply come here to bolster my knowledge by learning from like-minded individuals and, in some small way, contribute to the knowledge of said individuals. This site is a great tool for me as I don’t really have any friends that are interested in the subjects that are discussed here.
I know you can learn a lot on this forum, especially if you follow up on leads you get here. I have a lot of life sciences background, but never studied much in the humanities. Just today, your signature Nosce te ipsum piqued my interest, and an internet search took me to Greek philosophy as well as classic European poetry. There have been a lot of different interpretations of that phrase! Another thread had a posting of Walt Whitman’s writing. This is really a great place to expand your horizons.
answerer: Hungry is ahead of you already ... he’s coming up with some answers. The trick is to know when you don’t know, not to not know everything.
How can you know when you don’t know if you don’t know that you don’t know? This is a recurring problem in my life.
OK, we gotta’ stop with this growing tongue-twister. Saralynn, I’d say that part of that can be answered by the simple fact that you visit this site and engage in conversations that challenge religious beliefs. If you were ignorant to your doubt, you’d likely be a religious devotee and this site, more than likely, wouldn’t hold any interest and thus, you wouldn’t be engaging in this conversation. You’re an Agnostic, which means you’re aware of your doubt and that’s getting you somewhere so far, but at a certain point, you will have to shift from what you feel, to what you believe. I’m comfortable with what I believe.
(hungry mind): I’m comfortable with what I believe.
Now THAT should make you suspicious!
Yes, presumably he was also comfortable with what he believed before he began believing what he currently believes. Human subjective comfort and/or certainty about what is believed is, well, meaningless. The best example is the claim that one is 100% certain that God does/does not exist.
(hungry mind): I’m comfortable with what I believe.
Now THAT should make you suspicious!
Yes, presumably he was also comfortable with what he believed before he began believing what he currently believes. Human subjective comfort and/or certainty about what is believed is, well, meaningless. The best example is the claim that one is 100% certain that God does/does not exist.
That may be because he hasn’t fully analyzed all the data in order to distinguish knowledge from belief so he’s not certain exactly why he’s an Atheist (ie, without the belief, not replacing one belief with another), and/or his confidence level is not yet high enough. He has admitted as much. It seems to me that’s more leaning toward agnosticism and certainly further from Positive Atheism. If he learns more about the process of what he is seeking (eg, taking as much as there is to know into consideration), his PhD will culminate in Positive Atheism and his language will be more advanced.
Whatever. I’m pleased you joined us Hungry Mind. At least you’ll get a variety of opinions on PR, which you can weigh and consider before acknowledging that I am right.
If you’re really interested in what you say you’re interested in learning, I’ll suggest some readings (people here will roll their eyes since I’ve done it so many times before).
1. Doris Lessing: Prisons We Choose to Live Inside and The Sentimental Agents.
2. Anything by Idries Shah, but perhaps in order: Learning How to Learn, The Commanding Self, and Knowing How to Know.
@Saralynn: No, I’m not suspicious at all. Why? Simple, there’s a difference between feeling one thing and believing in another as a personal truth. I’m not an Agnostic any longer because being “on the fence” gets me nowhere and self-doubt is, for conversation sake, useless in the context of religious belief. I came to the conclusion, after years of weighing what I consider substantial reasonable evidence, that Atheism makes sense for me as Agnosticism was more or less a default mode of thinking since I was unsure of what to think, but I can tell you that believing in god was/is definitely not what felt right to me! Religion is a vehicle for weakness and a convenient crutch for those who lack the capacity or strength to take responsibility for their actions. Unlike you, who doesn’t know WHAT to think, my mind is clear! So, I acknowledge nothing, you are WRONG! Your weakness is your own; Agnosticism no longer holds a place for me in my life.
@Ecurb: No, I wasn’t comfortable with my Agnosticism, it was just a placeholder for me while I deliberated on the subject of religion VS. Atheism. Being comforted by my beliefs is not meaningless; Your personal beliefs and morals serve as a compass to guide you through life and if you’re not comfortable with your feelings, you’ll have a problem with really being satisfied with anything. I’m not an academic in the fields of psychology or philosophy, but this seems pretty sound to me.
@Answerer: Well then, I suppose this all stemmed from the misuse of a word. Allow me to rectify this: I know what I believe. My stance cannot be shaken by religion because I possess no self-doubt.
@Burt: Actually, I think I’ll start with some books by Dawkins, Dennett, Harris and Hitchens, followed by reading their essays. I’ll make a note to check out what you’ve mentioned though.
@Saralynn: No, I’m not suspicious at all. Why? Simple, there’s a difference between feeling one thing and believing in another as a personal truth. I’m not an Agnostic any longer because being “on the fence” gets me nowhere and self-doubt is, for conversation sake, useless in the context of religious belief. I came to the conclusion, after years of weighing what I consider substantial reasonable evidence, that Atheism makes sense for me as Agnosticism was more or less a default mode of thinking since I was unsure of what to think, but I can tell you that believing in god was/is definitely not what felt right to me! Religion is a vehicle for weakness and a convenient crutch for those who lack the capacity or strength to take responsibility for their actions. Unlike you, who doesn’t know WHAT to think, my mind is clear! So, I acknowledge nothing, you are WRONG! Your weakness is your own; Agnosticism no longer holds a place for me in my life.
