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/sci/ - Science & Math

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1963687 No.1963687 [Reply] [Original]

I think that the majority of mankind believes in gods, angels, and all those fairytales not because they lack intelligence, but because they lack control over their emotions, specifically the emotions which prevent them from not believing in fairytales, such as the desire to belong to a group, the fear of death, the desire to have an almighty being watching your back, etcetera. In other words, it's a matter of willpower, not intelligence.

What does /sci/ think? Is this accurate?

>> No.1963715

>>1963687

I suppose so. In any argument with a theist, it all comes down to what they 'want' to believe - facts do not matter to them.

>> No.1963717

>religiousfags don't have as much willpower as rational individuals
That's as fine a reason to feel superior as the intelligence argument, so I can live with that.

>> No.1963724

>>1963687
It is not intelligent to believe in bullshit, therefore they lack intelligence.

>> No.1963750

>>1963717

This is not about feeling superior.

>>1963724

Newton and Einstein were amongst the most intelligent men on the planet, yet they believed in God.

>> No.1963774

>>1963750

>>Newton and Einstein were amongst the most intelligent men on the planet, yet they believed in God.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/may/12/peopleinscience.religion

"The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this." ~Albert Einstein, letter to Eric Gutkind, January 3 1954.

"I received your letter of June 10th. I have never talked to a Jesuit priest in my life and I am astonished by the audacity to tell such lies about me. From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest I am, of course, and have always been an atheist." ~Albert Einstein, letter to Guy H. Raner Jr, July 2, 1945

>> No.1963782

I have seen peoples' devotion to their belief cause great pain and they still cling to them. Or they must constantly remind themselves of what they believe.

I'm an athiest and i'm still afraid in the dark sometimes even though i'm 99.9% sure nothing's gonna "get me."

>> No.1963798

OP, according to several philosophers as Bergson or Spinoza, willpower and intelligence are the same.

I don't exactly know how much it is true, but I think willpower is perhaps more important than intelligence, for it will guide what your are going to do with it.

>> No.1963826

>>1963750
NOVA: Did Newton view himself as one of these chosen few, one of the people ordained to receive this wisdom?

NEWMAN: I suspect he did, yes. I don't think he would have admitted it publicly, but one of his pastimes was concocting alchemical pseudonyms for himself. And one of these pseudonyms was Jehovah Sanctus Unus—that is, Jehovah, the Holy One.

NOVA: That's how Newton described himself?!

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/newton/alch-newman.html

>> No.1963834

>>1963750
>This is not about feeling superior.
Bullshit.

It has nothing to do with emotion or will power. That's stupid. It has to do with other people having either 1) a different set of experiences than you from which to draw conclusions or 2) a different degree of reliance of intuitive thinking about the universe as opposed to strict empiricism.

>> No.1963838

I'll never understand why many Christians bash the homosexual lifestyle, and many people that support homosexual lifestyles bash Christians.

I think some people take comfort in the hope of a better, safer tomorrow through prayer. Faith is something not everyone has; especially a pessimistic scientist.

>> No.1963842

>>1963834

There is plenty of evidence available for evolution for everyone yet most christians don't believe in it.

Don't bullshit me with 'a different set of experiences than you from which to draw conclusions'.

>> No.1963863

>>1963687
>>1963687
nope, thats just plain bullshit.

>> No.1963873

Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

>> No.1963874

>>1963842
WTF are you talking about. A belief in God and/or angels has nothing to do with evolution.

>> No.1963877

>>1963842
also
>most christians don't believe in it.
[citation needed]