[ExI] The void left by deleting religion

[Jef Allbright]

On 5/4/07, Keith Henson <hkhenson at rogers.com> wrote:
> At 08:57 AM 5/4/2007 -0700, Jef wrote:
> >On 5/4/07, Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > On 04/05/07, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky <sentience at pobox.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > What I miss most myself is comfort, the reassurance that there's a
> > > > higher power watching over you and that everything will turn out all
> > > > right.  But I know I can never have *that* back this side of the dawn,
> > > > and maybe not even then.  That feeling of comfort falls directly under
> > > > the non-negotiable prescription:  That which can be destroyed by the
> > > > truth should be.
> > >
> > > You obviously believe that the truth is better than falsehood and you're
> > > probably right. However, it is at least logically possible that widespread
> > > belief in a Noble Lie might have a net positive effect. In that case, is it
> > > still better to destroy the Lie regardless of the consequences?
>
> snip
>
> >The "Noble Lie" that you refer to would be in the category of
> >subjective values, not in the category of (increasingly) objective
> >instrumental methods.  And it would persist to the extent that it
> >survived the ongoing process of competition between and selection for,
> >values that "work."
>
> I can thing of one lie, perhaps noble, perhaps not, that I think is required.
>
> But it's a lie a rational religion would make taboo to talk about.

Well, there's the essential lie of the intrinsic value of the self.

- Jef