[extropy-chat] I believe

[BillK]

On Sun Nov 09, 2003 02:33 pm Brett Paatsch wrote:
> Do you want to use the language to help save your life or do
> you want to have a meme use your life to help it propagate?
>
> Please note one cannot ban a meme like the word belief -one
> can only point out its dangers and one-by-one (person) try
> and show that the person should choose for themselves not
> to help talk themselves to death by propagating the believing
> meme.
>

I think your policy is the exact opposite of what is required! :)

First, I should make it clear that I am all in favor of clarity of
speech and meaning. I have seen far too many discussions degenerate into
the participants saying, in effect, "words mean what I want them to mean
- not what you want them to mean!"

Now, all the English language dictionaries agree that the common usage
of the word 'believe' has a wide range of meanings, depending on
context. You can hear people 'believing' all the time in ordinary
conversation - nothing to do with deep religious or mystical beliefs.

This is a GOOD thing!

If you restrict the meaning to 'religious belief' you are giving far too
much self-importance to that belief. (Ignoring for the moment that any
given group of 100 'believers' will believe 100 different things).

If you hear people saying, for example,
"I believe it will rain tomorrow"
"I believe he will make a good president"
"I believe I am going to heaven"
"I believe the Matrix is true"
"I believe my SUV is better than yours"

then the effect of this is to equate religious belief with any other
belief, like whether it will rain tomorrow. It WEAKENS the belief meme
to the level of any other inconsequential belief a person might have.

It is a good result when someone says "I believe I am going to heaven"
and the response is "Yea - Well I believe in the Tooth Fairy and I've
got more real evidence than you have".

BillK
(No teeth, but lots of coins under my pillow)