Re: A frightening sign

On Dec 31, 10:14 am, awo...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Dec 30, 6:56 pm, r norman <r_s_norman@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

The tolerance whereof I speak does not involve the acceptance of
people who do evil. Rather it is the acceptance of people who some
suspect of being capable of evil merely because they look or talk or
think differently.

It's good to hear tolerance doesn't mean accepting of doing evil.

You say "look, talk or think" differently. These are in different
categories. Could we single out "talking differently"?

If the talking is about matters of taste, let the diversity reign. But
if the talking is about a matter of truth, shouldn't we should seek
unity?

-Alan Wostenberg

Depends on what you mean by "unity". Bring up a subject on which I
have an opinion, and I may try to convince you you're wrong, or ask
why you have different opinions. This doesn't mean I think all methods
are appropriate for changing your mind.

And I am very nervous about a society in which everyone has the same
beliefs. If they are mistaken, they will never know. Many ideas, and
civil discourse, are the best way to arrive at understanding. I don't
see how we could arrive at unanimity without oppression of one kind or
another.

In science, for example, a consensus is reached when the data is
significant and the prevailing model fits well. But there are always
minds at the fringe, and they sometimes come up with important
contributions. And eventually new data arrives that inspires (or
requires) rethinking the standard model.

An excellent example is classical physics and Einstein's Theories of
Relativity. If a whole society is convinced they "have the Truth",
then they are not open to new evidence, let a lone new ideas.

Kermit

Kermit

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Theory about predator of early man
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  • Re: A frightening sign
    ... people who do evil. ...  Rather it is the acceptance of people who some ... U.S.A or of people who speak English with strong "foreign" accents. ... when there is no fire, but that is a completely different topic. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: A frightening sign
    ... people who do evil. ...  Rather it is the acceptance of people who some ... suspect of being capable of evil merely because they look or talk or ...
    (talk.origins)