virus: equivocation

Eric Boyd (6ceb3@qlink.queensu.ca)
Mon, 8 Mar 1999 18:21:36 -0500

Hi,

From: Reed Konsler <konsler@ascat.harvard.edu>
>>Faith is a disciplined way of thinking, its purpose is to maintain
and
>>strengthen belief in ones current model of the world. (ERiC)

How do you get from:

>Sure, but if you'll look back a Jake's posts, he points out that
>pan-critical rationalism is a great way of creating a resilient
>self-consistent worldview...interrogate each link, replace those
>which are flawed, test the whole...in other words:

to here???

>"Reason is a disciplined way of thinking, its purpose is to maintain
>and strengthen belief in ones current model of the world."

Is it just me, or do they flatly contradict each other? I would characterize the former as "developing", "creating", "testing" a world-view. In a sense, that is "maintaining", in the sense that one "maintains" (and even improves) an airplane, or a car. But that is not how I was using the word in my faith definition -- there, I was thinking more of a "static equilibrium", as in holding-shape despite external influences.

i.e. I'm accusing you of equivocating on the word "maintain" in order to balance these definitions.

I hate equivocation.

ERiC