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Jinn · 05-25-2005, 10:13 AM

I'm honestly surprised that no one, as of yet, has brought up the principle of Occam's Razor. Heard and often misused in philosophical arguments, Occam's Razor is simply "that one should make no more assumptions than needed. When multiple explanations are available for a phenomenon, the simplest version is preferred."

My personal extension of this belief is that any derivation from this principle necessitates a level of "faith" -- for the less concrete your assumptions, the more that must be taken on faith. The principle can be applied to nearly every temporal or spatial assumption I (or we) make. An easy example would be: A charred tree on the ground could be caused by a landing alien ship or a lightning strike. According to Occam's Razor, the lightning strike is the preferred explanation as it requires the fewest assumptions.Perhaps the best formulation of Occam's Razor is the one which states that, of equally good explanations for a phenomenon, the best one is the simplest explanation which accounts for all the facts.

How does this relate to fanatacism? Simply put, atheism (and certainly agnosticism) requires the fewest assumptions. For me, a person who makes many assumptions ignores the most vital aspects of life: reality. A person who assumes that everyone is happy and that the government is perfect and that everything works out in the end (or their linear opposites) ignores the reality of the situation. In doing so, they breed ignorance. Any creationist who can dispute evolution on the basis that the earth is only 6000 years old assumes too much.

Although these may be disputable, I believe the indisputable aspect of Occam's Razor is that theism requires far more assumption.

For Christianity to be true: Assume there is a higher being. Assume the higher being is named God. Assume that being is omniscient. Assume this being is omnipotent, Assume this being is omnipresent. Assume this being created the Universe. Assume this being created Earth. Assume this being created Humans. Assume this being requires belief in itself. Assume there is a Heaven.

For Atheism: Assume there is no higher being. (YES, ASSUME). Because the rest of the assumptions regard the being itself, they are no longer necessary.

For Agnosticism: Assume nothing -- empiricism may or may not reveal the answer in the future.

-JiNN

05-25-2005, 10:13 AM	#149 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	I'm honestly surprised that no one, as of yet, has brought up the principle of Occam's Razor. Heard and often misused in philosophical arguments, Occam's Razor is simply "that one should make no more assumptions than needed. When multiple explanations are available for a phenomenon, the simplest version is preferred." My personal extension of this belief is that any derivation from this principle necessitates a level of "faith" -- for the less concrete your assumptions, the more that must be taken on faith. The principle can be applied to nearly every temporal or spatial assumption I (or we) make. An easy example would be: A charred tree on the ground could be caused by a landing alien ship or a lightning strike. According to Occam's Razor, the lightning strike is the preferred explanation as it requires the fewest assumptions.Perhaps the best formulation of Occam's Razor is the one which states that, of equally good explanations for a phenomenon, the best one is the simplest explanation which accounts for all the facts. How does this relate to fanatacism? Simply put, atheism (and certainly agnosticism) requires the fewest assumptions. For me, a person who makes many assumptions ignores the most vital aspects of life: reality. A person who assumes that everyone is happy and that the government is perfect and that everything works out in the end (or their linear opposites) ignores the reality of the situation. In doing so, they breed ignorance. Any creationist who can dispute evolution on the basis that the earth is only 6000 years old assumes too much. Although these may be disputable, I believe the indisputable aspect of Occam's Razor is that theism requires far more assumption. For Christianity to be true: Assume there is a higher being. Assume the higher being is named God. Assume that being is omniscient. Assume this being is omnipotent, Assume this being is omnipresent. Assume this being created the Universe. Assume this being created Earth. Assume this being created Humans. Assume this being requires belief in itself. Assume there is a Heaven. For Atheism: Assume there is no higher being. (YES, ASSUME). Because the rest of the assumptions regard the being itself, they are no longer necessary. For Agnosticism: Assume nothing -- empiricism may or may not reveal the answer in the future. -JiNN __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel