Is there logic in superstition?

tonisz · Visitor Joined: 03 Aug 2007 Posts: 14 Local time: 3:24 PM

I'm an atheist by birth, so to speak, I was never tempted by any religion (with a short exception during my childhood). I think though that human is a religious being by nature and there is a logical explanation for that. Have you ever thought that there's logic in superstition? I'm writing an article about that and I would like to know what do you guys think.
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monkeybyte · Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 9:28 pm Post subject:

I wouldn't assign logic to superstition so much as pattern seeking. We're hardwired to look for patterns in the world, even when they don't exist.
A helpful pattern:
Some snakes are venomous, so watch out for snakes.
Not so much:
Joe the village idiot was flailing around when the drought broke and it finally rained, so the Gods want us to flail around like Joe.
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lumpymunk · Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 9:44 pm Post subject:

I think you should just read Daniel Dennett's book, Breaking the Spell.

Sam Harris doesn't go into detail about the nature of human beings, but he does believe (as does Dennett) that religion fulfills a very basic human need, one shouldn't have to assert beliefs about things he really does not know in order to fill that need.

The word I think you're looking for.. is "spiritual" not in its literal sense.. maybe ever ceremonious... instead of innately "religious." You could think of a religion as a world view, or a value system, a philosophy used for guiding human action, and in that sense it also fulfills a very necessary human need, prescribing how one ought to live... but philosophy itself is much older than any specific religious doctrine today, and much more can be gained in that pursuit by studying philosophy itself.

So only in a very technical sense can I agree with the terminology "religious need" as being something human beings need fulfilled. Human beings do need a non-contradictory value system to live by, they practice one whether or not they chose to identify it, and human beings certainly need to experience a sense of wonder throughout their lives for inspiration and fulfillment, and those things can be achieved without attempting to claim knowledge of things you really do not know.. i.e... gods existence.

As far as religions go today, eastern religions have so much more to offer the human being than the Abrahamic religions, it's not even a close race.
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josephpalazzo · Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:28 pm Post subject:

Logic or twisted reasoning?

??? sentence 1.
Cheap: My objection is on the grounds that this is a fallacy of...
??? sentence 2.
Cheap: It's a false dichotomy.
??? sentence 3, which clarifies sentence 1.
Cheap: No, you just missed the point. The objection is… (which inevitably contradicts his own objection to sentence 1)
??? sentence 4, (which supports Cheap’s objection to sentence 1)
Cheap: Strawman.

Isambard · Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:51 pm Post subject:

I think it would be a bit more apt if you broadened it to ideology instead of religion.

Both contain logic to either arrive at things we 'feel' are imp't, avoid things we feel are bad, and some sort of ultimate decider we feel is most important.
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redraiderdude187 · Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:58 pm Post subject:

josephpalazzo · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 5:41 am Post subject:

Paranoia21 · Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 11:42 am Post subject:

Wow. I. Am. Totally. Confused.
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