Philosophy – What’s there? Seeing & reason: Do vices cloud our minds and make us hostile to unpleasant truths?

[Ani_Ibi]

RobNY brought forward an engaging insight imho on another thread.

RobNY:

I think the ancients would agree-- virtue is very important if we want to find truth. Vices cloud our minds and make us hostile to unpleasant truths.

1. First we see. Yes? I have noted that folks can look at one thing, yet see different things. What causes these differences in what we see?
2. Then we reason from what we see. (inductive reasoning) Yes? Reason is reason, is it not? Can we not hold reason as a constant? Yet, among different people, reason often seems variable – or relative. Is reason relative? If not, then what is not reasonable is faulty reasoning. Yes? Do faulty seeing and faulty reasoning have the same source(s)?
3. The result of seeing and reasoning is understanding. Understanding is a formula which allows us to predict how we can see the same thing over and over. Yes?
4. Seeing the same things over and over reinforces the way we see, the way we reason, and therefore what we understand. Yes? A claim which contradicts our reinforced understanding then becomes an ‘extraordinary’ claim. And extraordinary claims require extraordinary proofs. Yes? Is the requirement for extraordinary proofs necessarily an expression of hostility to unpleasant truths?

The initial questions for this thread are below in purple.

What causes these differences in what we see?

Reason is reason, is it not? Can we not hold reason as a constant? Is reason relative?

Do faulty seeing and faulty reasoning have the same source(s)?

Do vices cloud our minds and make us hostile to unpleasant truths?

Thoughts?

 

[vern_humphrey]

What causes these differences in what we see?

I think I can safely say it’s either nature or nurture, or a combination of both.

Reason is reason, is it not? Can we not hold reason as a constant? Is reason relative?

Objective reality is beyond our capabilities. If that were not true, we would know God.

Do faulty seeing and faulty reasoning have the same source(s)?

Yes – people “see” based on their prejudices.
Do vices cloud our minds and make us hostile to unpleasant truths?

Of course – look at how some people tenaciously defend abortion as a good thing.

 

[Truthstalker]

I see that vices cloud our minds and make us hostile to unpleasant truths.

This is about ten threads of material - with general semantics as a presuppositional framework.

Based on the sermon on the mount, I would say that the Lord answers yes to the concept that vices cloud our minds, and yes to the concept that vices make up hostile to unpleasant truth.

There is a long history of cherishing the distinction between the subjective and the objective. Why blurrest thou this?

 

[Verbum]

Hi Ani Ibi,

Our vision can be incomplete or clouded. Yes, our passions and prejudices cloud what we see and may make it look like something else.

In the same way, even though we may see correctly, our passions and prejudices can cloud our reasoning process.

This is very evident in Jesus’ dealing with the people of his time. They all saw the same things, but did not draw the same conclusions. We can always find a good reason not to change our ways.

Verbum

 

[vern_humphrey]

This reminds me of Singapore. The Sultan of Brunai provides the Singapore Armed Forces a training area – but the only suitable Bivouac area is an old graveyard. Now, the majority of Singaporeans are Chinese – traditional Chinese. When the sun goes down, you can look around the bivouac area and see a hundred and fifty pairs of wide-open eyes, looking for demons.

And if a hundred and fifty young Chinese lae awake all night, waiting for demons to come – guess what will happen about three o’clock in the morning?

 

[Ani_Ibi]

This is very evident in Jesus’ dealing with the people of his time. They all saw the same things, but did not draw the same conclusions. We can always find a good reason not to change our ways.

Nice connections. John 6, for instance?

 

[Ani_Ibi]

This is about ten threads of material - with general semantics as a presuppositional framework.

Please feel free to start all ten threads.

Based on the sermon on the mount, I would say that the Lord answers yes to the concept that vices cloud our minds, and yes to the concept that vices make up hostile to unpleasant truth.

There is a long history of cherishing the distinction between the subjective and the objective. Why blurrest thou this?

It would help immensely if you used your quote button and your link button so that the rest of us could know what you are talking about.