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[-] demlet@lemmy.world 57 points 1 year ago

I definitely think there's a strain of dogmatism in science. We need to be careful. Science is not the Truth, it's a method for producing accurate predictions. We accumulate evidence until the predictions seem overwhelmingly likely, or not. At no point have we proven that things might not be completely different from what we imagine them to be, or that they won't change. Science isn't Truth, it's just a method of finding the best answer up to that point.

[-] mycroft@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Careful. Science is not the Truth, it’s a method for producing accurate predictions. We accumulate evidence until the predictions seem overwhelmingly likely, or not. At no point have we proven that things might not be completely different from what we imagine them to be, or that they won’t change. Science isn’t Truth, it’s just a method of finding the best answer up to that point.

Listen to the mainstream, not the mediastreams, don't listen to the jackasses spewing transdimensional micro-wormholes -- yet. There's mystery in science, but that's literally how we find the next-big-thing. When there's mystery in religion, you are supposed to ignore it.

[-] Badass_panda@lemmy.world 45 points 1 year ago

Science and religion are two entirely separate things. Treating religion like science is bad, but treating science like religion is worse.

You cannot "believe in" science; it is not intended to tell you how to live a moral life or provide meaning to your existence, etc. If you try and make it do that, you are not being scientific, you're being dogmatic.

These concepts aren't related to each other, and shouldn't be compared.

[-] AnalogyAddict@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

So absolutely true. Until people realize this, memes like these sound stupid.

[-] uriel238 5 points 1 year ago

Science is descriptive where religion is prescriptive. Granted there are some origin storys in religion (Eve's sin or Noah's rainbow) but we've had people dismissing their own fables back in the classical age, instead trying to hypothesize how things are really.

This is how Adonai can be a total git and yet declared as just and righteous and benevolent by fiat, what raises challenges to the properties of justice, righteousness or benevolence. Apologists usually retreat to semantics.

Science has its own approach to morality, which is to frame it as a consequentialist formula. Exempli gratia, looking at the histories of civilization, we can see that whenever the bourgoisie neglects the needs of the proletariat, civil unrest, genocide and war follow. Therefore, we might infer that a) the bourgeoisie might be able to defer civic collapse by establishing and enforcing unconditional civil rights and accommodations for its population, and b) that no society has ever been able to do this in perpetuity. The thousand year reich is still a fiction.

The religious equivalent is scriptural passages to kings ( govern wisely ) and to bonded servants, ( obey ), without any elaboration on the mechanics or consequences.

Consensus among religious scholars is that scripture (whether Christian, Muslim, Hellenic, Nubian or whatever) are just early attempts at moral philosophy distilled down to divine command theory, which is very basic deontological ethics (creed-based ethics). With centuries (and centuries) of further thought on the matter, our religious ministries have focused more on profiteering than on keeping up with the times.

[-] Badass_panda@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Science is descriptive where religion is prescriptive.

This is true, but also it's prescriptive about different things... religion is focused on morality, which isn't the kind of thing science is useful for; morality is a philosophical and religious thing.

This is how Adonai can be a total git and yet declared as just and righteous and benevolent by fiat, what raises challenges to the properties of justice, righteousness or benevolence. Apologists usually retreat to semantics.

Or "the lord moves in mysterious ways," type hand waving.

Science has its own approach to morality, which is to frame it as a consequentialist formula

I wouldn't call that science, that's philosophy

Science has its own approach to morality, which is to frame it as a consequentialist formula. Exempli gratia, looking at the histories of civilization, we can see that whenever the bourgoisie neglects the needs of the proletariat, civil unrest, genocide and war follow. Therefore, we might infer that a) the bourgeoisie might be able to defer civic collapse by establishing and enforcing unconditional civil rights and accommodations for its population, and b) that no society has ever been able to do this in perpetuity. The thousand year reich is still a fiction.

This is ... a political science theory relying on haphazard historiography, maybe?

I do not know anyone claiming to have a "science of morality" that I would consider to be scientific, or moral...

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[-] delicious_tvarog@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago

We shouldn't think of science as a better replacement for religion. It's a different thing entirely; if we start worshipping rationalism, we've just made ourselves the gods of a new religion.

[-] funkajunk@lemm.ee 12 points 1 year ago

What if I told you that many people don't believe in any gods at all? Worship is a choice and not a necessity.

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[-] seitanic@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Rationalism can lead to a cult mentality. It's happened before. Of course, you could say that this isn't "true rationalism", but you have to ask yourself if you're actually practicing rational thinking or just fetishizing the trappings of rationalism. I think that this means that skepticism is just as important as rationalism.

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[-] Bye@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

Unfortunately, so many. Like vaccines.

[-] tasty4skin@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

i’m not religious, but anti-religious enlightened atheist garbage is some of the worst content out there

[-] richieadler@lemmy.myserv.one 11 points 1 year ago

anti-religious enlightened atheist garbage is some of the worst content out there

Really? Pedantry is as bad as fatwas and religiously motivated killings?

How quaint.

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[-] Sentrovasi@kbin.social 11 points 1 year ago

It's not the atheist part that sucks, just that a community for people who don't believe in something's (as opposed to a community for people who believe in something) lowest common denominator is basically hating something else, so you get a lot of condescending posts.

Doesn't help that a lot of posts are also very edgy, because atheism tends to skew towards the younger generation. I cringe every time, but at least it's not as bad as people taking the opportunity to be racist in the name of atheism.

[-] Narrrz@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago

are you sure you didn't catch religion off someone who was contagious at the time?

[-] Franzia 3 points 1 year ago

I think all communities can be annoying in this exact way if they resort to virtue signaling / dunking / repeating the classic lines, as opposed to working to form new arguments.

[-] shortgiraffe@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

as opposed to working to form new arguments.

Atheism is the rejection of thiest's arguments. You'll have to get the ball rolling over there before we can do anything.

[-] lasagna@programming.dev 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Science itself during the dark ages.

Romans were doing very well before my buddy JC came along.

Maybe our sins should have stayed unforgiven, you know?

[-] mrbubblesort@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago

Just name one thing? Reason! Ha, checkmate atheists!

[-] dx1@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

I mean, religion by definition is basically just guessing what's true, or guessing that what somebody else told you is true is true. Not exactly a foolproof method.

[-] flamboyantkoala@programming.dev 6 points 1 year ago

A sense of meaning. Not replaced but science hasn’t found it yet.

[-] Sheik@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago

Many people find meaning in understanding how the world works.

[-] flamboyantkoala@programming.dev 3 points 1 year ago

Didn’t say it was the only thing that provided meaning but you’ll find in a church depression is less prevalent likely due to the sense of meaning and purpose attendees have.

That sense of meaning is something all attendees can achieve because they are taught to. Science doesn’t teach a person how to be okay with their purpose in life, in fact some of the answers science finds may push people further from purpose.

[-] Cold_Brew_Enema@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

I have found plenty of purpose in my life without religion.

[-] beatit@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

But you know this is the only life you got, right? Your life is finite and coming to an end. Well, for the ones with faith, life never ends. You might have found purpose but many many others won't be able to. Just like me, an atheist, struggling to deal with the thought of NOTHINGNESS once this is over.

[-] valaramech@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

What helps me is considering that I won't be around to contemplate that nothing. Sure, I dislike that my continuity of experience will eventually end, but, in the ending, there won't be a me to care anymore.

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[-] Sheik@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

You’ll find very low rates of depression in amusement park jobs. Yet, they dont teach them about purpose of life there, are they?

Your logic is awful. You’re making the most ridiculous conclusions.

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[-] richieadler@lemmy.myserv.one 4 points 1 year ago

depression is less prevalent likely due to the sense of meaning and purpose attendees have

You don't care that they're deluded?

Science doesn’t teach a person how to be okay with their purpose in life, in fact some of the answers science finds may push people further from purpose.

Reality can be hard. It doesn't make it less real, nor the search for gods less futile.

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[-] richieadler@lemmy.myserv.one 4 points 1 year ago

If you reach it in an external, supernatural being who grants it to you, maybe you're searching in the wrong place.

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[-] needthosepylons@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I googled the website on one of the signs, bounced on 2 or 3 links and found this gem :

https://www.thetrumpet.com/literature/1176-does-god-exist/print

Checkmate atheists!

(/s, in case anyone needs this)

[-] Transcriptionist@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Image Transcription:

A 4-panel Angry NPC Wojak meme. The first panel shows grey NPC wojak saying "Religion and science are both ways of finding the truth" In the second panel the white character replies "Can you name me one thing that was found by science and was later replaced by religion" The third panel is grey NPC wojak with no text, and the final panel is the titular angry NPC wojak with his brows furrowed.

[I am a human, if I’ve made a mistake please let me know. Please consider providing alt-text for ease of use. Thank you. 💜]

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this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
496 points (100.0% liked)

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