Comments on: Dissecting Materialism http://blog.ryanashton.org/2007/12/03/dissecting-materialism/ Thoughts and opinions from Ryan Ashton Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:05:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Ryan Ashton http://blog.ryanashton.org/2007/12/03/dissecting-materialism/#comment-19 Ryan Ashton Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:49:00 +0000 http://blog.ryanashton.org/2007/12/03/dissecting-materialism/#comment-19 Hey, sounds like an interesting article (where did you find an '03 issue of Philosophy Now?). Isn't it funny that the bottom line of a materialist position is still based on "faith?" I don't have a problem with "faith" per se, but I do have a problem with an unbalanced appreciation for, and application of, faith-based beliefs. If materialists are going to use faith to buttress their own beliefs about the world, it is only fair for them to appreciate its use for those of a non-materialist nature. So, if an idealist or a dualist proposes the existence of something beyond the range of normal human (5 sense) perception, the materialist cannot dismiss such a claim purely on the charge of "faith" alone. All things considered, I think there is room for faith within reasoned beliefs. However, faith can still be subjected to some degree of reason--meaning not all faith-based beliefs are equally valid. I'll have to work that out more formally somehow though. Hey, sounds like an interesting article (where did you find an ‘03 issue of Philosophy Now?). Isn’t it funny that the bottom line of a materialist position is still based on “faith?”

I don’t have a problem with “faith” per se, but I do have a problem with an unbalanced appreciation for, and application of, faith-based beliefs. If materialists are going to use faith to buttress their own beliefs about the world, it is only fair for them to appreciate its use for those of a non-materialist nature. So, if an idealist or a dualist proposes the existence of something beyond the range of normal human (5 sense) perception, the materialist cannot dismiss such a claim purely on the charge of “faith” alone.

All things considered, I think there is room for faith within reasoned beliefs. However, faith can still be subjected to some degree of reason–meaning not all faith-based beliefs are equally valid. I’ll have to work that out more formally somehow though.

]]> By: n8 http://blog.ryanashton.org/2007/12/03/dissecting-materialism/#comment-17 n8 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:21:58 +0000 http://blog.ryanashton.org/2007/12/03/dissecting-materialism/#comment-17 I read an interesting article in a back issue of Philosophy Now (from 2003...I will get you the citation) that basically argued the 'materialist' position boils down to the following: materialists are those who believe that reality is whatever physicists eventually tell us it is. At the moment, a 'materialist' working from cartesian physics and a 'materialist' working from quantum physics don't have much in common other than an inordinate amount of faith in the power of physics, but they do both hold that faith. I read an interesting article in a back issue of Philosophy Now (from 2003…I will get you the citation) that basically argued the ‘materialist’ position boils down to the following: materialists are those who believe that reality is whatever physicists eventually tell us it is. At the moment, a ‘materialist’ working from cartesian physics and a ‘materialist’ working from quantum physics don’t have much in common other than an inordinate amount of faith in the power of physics, but they do both hold that faith.

]]> By: Meena4 http://blog.ryanashton.org/2007/12/03/dissecting-materialism/#comment-12 Meena4 Sat, 08 Dec 2007 04:27:36 +0000 http://blog.ryanashton.org/2007/12/03/dissecting-materialism/#comment-12 Excellent article. Research in this particular field is all too rare. I will await further insight into your ideas about the non-physical world that most certainly underlies physical reality. Excellent article. Research in this particular field is all too rare. I will await further insight into your ideas about the non-physical world that most certainly underlies physical reality.

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