translate an article "pure and hard" about the psychologist Sue Blackmore special respect that society accords to religion and logic compatibility of faith with reason. Is heavily criticized the attitude Tony Blair's toward religion. The original English can be found here .
We of little faith
"Religious faith is not incompatible with reason."
I nearly choked breakfast when I heard this on Today. These words were spoken by Mr Blair , sincere in his inimitable style. He was addressing an Islamic conference in London, June 4, and promised more public money to support Islamic studies in British universities.
After I calmed down I went to check, and it was really so. In full text of his address on the site No 10, egli dice:
"Di fronte alla così grande visibilità che viene data all'estremismo religioso, allo scisma e allo scontro, è importante notare che la fede religiosa non è incompatibile con la ragione, con il progresso, con la celebrazione della diversità." [Blair ha usato la parola "inconsistente", che significa "logicamente incompatibile", NdM]Ma la fede religiosa è incompatibile con la ragione (e anche con molte altre cose di valore).
Non mi riferisco alla fede nel senso di fiducia, come la fiducia nell'onestà di un'altra persona, o la fiducia che prendere un'aspirina ridurrà il tuo mal head. I'm talking about religion, as mentioned by Blair. In this context, "faith" means believing without reason . E 'is defined precisely so that, for example here as "belief that is not based on logical proof or material evidence," or the Merriam Webster as "belief in something for which there is no evidence ". This makes faith incompatible with reason? I would say yes. Reason demands that you seek evidence and to guide your beliefs on the basis of this evidence --- which is exactly what we do when we trust a friend because it was reliable in the past, doubt, or when a rumor until we have not checked the facts.
Faith is corrosive to the human mind. If one genuinely believes that it is right to believe something without reason or evidence, then he is about to become victim of every kind of dogma, arbitrariness, coercion, virulent or dangerous idea that there is around. If one is convinced that it is acceptable to base their beliefs on what is written in an old book, or what some teacher tells them to believe, then he will have no real freedom of thought will be trapped by their faith in a state of logical inconsistency and untruths because it is unable to get rid of misconceptions when it presents evidence to the contrary.
Il senso stesso dell'educazione universitaria è imparare a pensare da soli, a criticare le teorie, a confrontare idee e a scoprire la verità mediante la ricerca, l'indagine e l'esperimento. Non importa se studi francese, chimica o psicologia, ti vengono dati degli strumenti per pensare indipendentemente, e ti vengono dati modi di giudicare la validità delle affermazioni altrui. In tutto questo non c'è alcuno spazio per la fede, e non dovrebbe esserci.
Voglio essere chiara su che cosa NON sto affermando. Prima di tutto non sto affermando che tutto debba essere razionale . C'è molto nella vita umana che ha poco o nulla a che fare con la razionalità; c'è l'amore e l'affetto, l'arte e la poesia, la felicità, la bellezza e l'intuizione. Ma nessuna di queste cose ha bisogno di essere accettata per fede. Nei corsi universitari c'è dentro molto di ciò che non è razionale, non solo nei corsi d'arte, ma anche in quelli scientifici, dove si hanno premonizioni o si apprezzano idee meravigliose, ma di nuovo non c'è spazio per restare attaccati alla fede religiosa -- non importa da dove vengono le idee, alla fine devono essere gettate via se sono dimostrate sbagliate.
Secondo, non sto dicendo che nessuno studente debba avere credenze religiose. Questo è (e deve essere, in una società libera) affar loro, nella privacy della loro mente. Ci saranno always students who believe things on faith and others who do not, but the job of a university course is to make people think and give them the tools to do so. Faith is not one of these tools. In truth, much of university education reduces religious belief, and indeed should do so.
In my psychology courses I've had countless students who initially believed in God, or afterlife, or spirits and souls, and then had to call into question these beliefs, as they learn how to really the mind works. I saw them (and I hope I helped them) go through this painful process disposing of their strict religious beliefs of childhood, and learn to live with uncertainty and open-minded that are necessary for real learning.
Finally, I'm not saying there should be no courses on Christianity or Islam or other religion . There are and there should be, because there are many important things to consider: the history of religions, beliefs, their cultural background and more. But universities should teach people to think, question, and understand these things, not to have faith in "truth" proclaimed without reason or evidence.
When Tony Blair says the word "faith" the item has a touch of special reverence, as if faith was something to be respected , something that we admire in others, and because of that leave them in peace without subjecting their beliefs to the investigation and evidence. In fact, said the conference was an "opportunity to listen, to hear the true voice of Islam, to welcome them and appreciate them, and in doing so, to join all those who believe in a world where religious faith is respected. " How unfortunate. How creepy. How scary is when we see all around us the harsh consequences of actions based on faith.
E 'obvious that people of faith want us to respect their beliefs. Why have no other way to defend that appeal to respect, to promise rewards for believers, or threaten punishments for unbelievers. But anyone who cares about the truth should resist this attractive idea of \u200b\u200b"respect", which is a scam. Religious faith is something that we should fight to eliminate when we have better ways to reach the truth about the universe we live in, something that we should respect rather than defeat.
I, for my part, I do not want to live in a world where religious faith is respected . I do not want other "faith-based initiatives." Not I want other religious schools, and our great universities should continue to teach people to think for themselves, to respect the truth, and not accept anything on faith.
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