Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Empiricism and Religion

The religious often claim that "you'll find [god] when you're ready." That is all they're left with after we have destroyed all their fallacies and canards.

But that is precisely when you should doubt what you see, if a disembodied voice speaks to you then you are probably suffering a severe psychological trauma. Of course the voice is only the extreme sign, others are more subtle responses to chemical processes.

Under stress, or any negative emotion, the brain triggers the release of psychotropic chemicals. These will alter what you see, hear, and even feel.

This is not the time to have life changing epitomes, it is a time to doubt everything you experience. Thus we have empiricism, in spite of it's name this is not some magical force or sense, it's simply verifying your own experiences by comparing them to the facts.

One part of empiricism is to compare experiences with those who were physically present, if there is any difference between them then you know they are suspect. Have everyone write it down before talking about it to ensure that one does not influence the others.

The end result is almost always varying stories, sometimes so different that you can easily dismiss them all. Anyone who says "I meant to say that" instead of what they wrote, then you know there is a lot of cognitive dissonance in play.

You also need to examine the verifiable facts, while making no assumptions. For this, bringing a third party who lacks any investment works tl verify the facts.

That is basic empiricism, a simple method of making sure you're sane.

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