Wednesday, April 11, 2007

"Physics isn't Christian, though it was invented by Christians. Algebra isn't Muslim, even though it was invented by Muslims. Whenever we get at the truth, we transcend culture, we transcend our upbringing. The discourse of science is a good example of where we should hold out hope for transcending our tribalism."

--Sam Harris, "The God Debate," Newsweek, April 9, 2007
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6 comments:

Ken said...

"Whenever we get at the truth, we transcend culture, we transcend our upbringing."

What is "truth"?

11:04 AM
Mac said...

Truth is that which, when we stop believing it in, doesn't go away ... to paraphrase Philip K. Dick.

2:08 PM
Henry Baum said...

Except that "truth" might also be God (or ether or the collective unconscious or Vril or the Force, or whatever), which wouldn't make Sam Harris very happy. I really like this quote but the problem I have with him is his total disavowal of faith. The Big Bang's a theory and it to must be taken on faith. Even scientific inquiry is not totally viable. We can prove the "how," much harder to prove the "why."

2:18 PM
Mac said...

Except that "truth" might also be God (or ether or the collective unconscious or Vril or the Force, or whatever), which wouldn't make Sam Harris very happy.

I disagree. What Harris doesn't like is blind *faith*. If there's a "divine" being of some sort, and we could demonstrate this, we wouldn't need faith. In fact, we might even learn something that would eventually enable us to transcend the tribalism he rightly decries.

3:01 PM
Henry Baum said...

I'll admit I haven't read his book, but what I have read from him suggests that he thinks any faith is blind. It may be that divinity can't be measured, certainly not by a microscope or the tools we're using now. My point is that science is a belief system that's continually being updated. What we know as truth today must be taken on faith. Scientific orthodoxy is just as dangerous as religious fundamentalism. Again, I haven't read him in full so maybe he addresses this.

3:16 PM
Unknown said...

I'll add to the 'culture' and 'truth', and 'faith' things like this: Smiling isn't only in Thai 'culture', but "Thailand's the land of smiles" is the 'truth'. Nobody can shake my 'faith' in this. Not before I die, I think.

12:42 AM

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