Reply #55: Self-correcting means constant deconstruction [View All]

[lapislzi]

I attempt to unravel everything I hear and everything I believe. I try to trace beliefs and events back to prima causa. It's exhausting work, but it takes you to some startling conclusions at times. But once you arrive at a first cause, you can examine the belief and decide whether you can accept it. Every opinion I hold is a result of this deconstruction process. If I haven't yet deconstructed a series of events or a position, I will admit that I am unsure.

Again, UlTRAX, I think we're saying the same thing. It's the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning. Religion is a prime example of the former. If you start out with a conclusion, the odds are very good that you will be able to massage the data to fit the conclusion.

I have very few "core values," but the ones I do hold are cast in stone, and all else springs from them. It's what saves me from moral relativism. Compassion is one. Rationality is another.