Sometimes we believe ideas because they make logical sense, sometimes we do because of the way the idea makes us feel. And yes, some atheists accept "atheistic ideas" only because it feels good (perhaps because of an underlying hatred towards religion, or an enjoyment for the way philosophical feels). I could rant all day long for why I believe religion is stupid, but that's not the point of this blog post. The reality is, we are beings of feeling. Everything we believe to exist is "felt" subjectively, and believers probably do "feel" something that atheists do not (and obviously their interpretations of what they feel is different as well). It's easy to bash the believers as being only concerned with "feeling good". But I realize that we should be careful to not make ourselves into hypocrites. Beyond a doubt outspoken atheists gain pleasure from arguing against religion for reasons such as...
-It feels good to win an argument
-Feeling "wrong" isn't pleasant (atheists, and people in general wont believe something if their emotions don't line up with it)
-Atheists with a hatred of religion will gain pleasure from venting.
-Logical thinking does feel good, there is a certain zen to it.
Just to name a few...
How often to we believe things solely due to the way it makes us feel? I believe that we never actually escape this. In short, an unfortunately, it seems that the way information makes us feel is more important than the information itself. Ideas that create the most powerful feelings are the ones we pay the most attention to.
To clarity: I'm arguing that logical thinking is generally preferred among atheists not because they are masters of the universe, but because they enjoy the way such thoughts make them feel...sort of like having a certain taste in music.
-It feels good to win an argument
-Feeling "wrong" isn't pleasant (atheists, and people in general wont believe something if their emotions don't line up with it)
-Atheists with a hatred of religion will gain pleasure from venting.
-Logical thinking does feel good, there is a certain zen to it.
Just to name a few...
How often to we believe things solely due to the way it makes us feel? I believe that we never actually escape this. In short, an unfortunately, it seems that the way information makes us feel is more important than the information itself. Ideas that create the most powerful feelings are the ones we pay the most attention to.
To clarity: I'm arguing that logical thinking is generally preferred among atheists not because they are masters of the universe, but because they enjoy the way such thoughts make them feel...sort of like having a certain taste in music.
No comments:
Post a Comment