Freethought & Rationalism Archive

meritocrat · 10-25-2003, 12:43 AM

Is any belief or sensibility absolute? If a person prefers ham to bacon, is that absolute?

ktriton · 10-25-2003, 11:00 AM

No, because beliefs change with knowledge and experience.

seebs · 10-25-2003, 06:28 PM

What do you mean by "absolute"?

Theli · 10-26-2003, 01:40 AM

I'm abit confused with this too, does "absolute" mean not a subject of change?

DBT · 10-26-2003, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ktriton
No, because beliefs change with knowledge and experience.

Semantics can be a big problem,the word belief is often used to describe simply a changing point of view,theory, hypothesis ,idea,etc.
belief is basicaly wanting something to be true for which there is little or no evidence.
Wishfull thinking.

kaelcarp · 10-30-2003, 06:28 AM

If, by absolute, you mean not relative, well, all things are relative. You can say A does not like to eat bacon, but if A was starving and you threw A some bacon, you can bet A would like to eat bacon.

John Page · 10-30-2003, 02:23 PM

Ham is not an absolute and neither is bacon, both are part of the comestible pig continuum that starts with pork chops and ends with sausages.

This being the case, neither any belief in or sensibility of these meat products is absolute (although one can believe them to be so).

Oink, John

rmadison · 10-30-2003, 02:45 PM

Are any beliefs absolute?

No. I'm absolutely sure of it.

external solipsism · 10-30-2003, 03:19 PM

The answer to this question obviously is no. If a thought was absolutely true, then it would not be a belief, but instead it woudl be a known fact.

Now, perhaps you were trying to ask if anything can be known absolutely true? If so, then I woud have to answer the same. Nothing can be known to be absolutely true. At least not by any human. This is because humans are limited to a subjective point of view. We can only percieve things as they affect us. We cannot view the objective reality of existence. Thus, anything which would seem to be absolutely true, is built partially upon the accuracy of our perceptive faculties, as well as our mental interpretations of our perceptions. And with no way to be sure of those being absolutely and completely accurate, complete, fool-proof, and basically perfect, one cannot know anything for sure....

Except the fact that one eixsts. But that's what you all would expect me to say, right? *heh*

DBT · 10-30-2003, 06:31 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by external solipsism
[B]The answer to this question obviously is no. If a thought was absolutely true, then it would not be a belief, but instead it woudl be a known fact.

Thats right,also likes and dislikes and preferences of objective things are built on experience and have nothing to do with belief.

10-25-2003, 12:43 AM	#1
meritocrat Banned Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: England Posts: 2,608	Are any beliefs absolute? Is any belief or sensibility absolute? If a person prefers ham to bacon, is that absolute?

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10-25-2003, 11:00 AM	#2
ktriton Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Boston Posts: 31	No, because beliefs change with knowledge and experience.

10-25-2003, 06:28 PM	#3
seebs Contributor Join Date: May 2002 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 24,524	What do you mean by "absolute"?

10-26-2003, 01:40 AM	#4
Theli Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Sweden Posts: 2,567	I'm abit confused with this too, does "absolute" mean not a subject of change?

10-30-2003, 06:28 AM	#6
kaelcarp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 1,031	If, by absolute, you mean not relative, well, all things are relative. You can say A does not like to eat bacon, but if A was starving and you threw A some bacon, you can bet A would like to eat bacon.

10-30-2003, 02:23 PM	#7
John Page Veteran Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: US Posts: 5,495	Ham is not an absolute and neither is bacon, both are part of the comestible pig continuum that starts with pork chops and ends with sausages. This being the case, neither any belief in or sensibility of these meat products is absolute (although one can believe them to be so). Oink, John

10-30-2003, 02:45 PM	#8
rmadison User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Kansas Posts: 262	Are any beliefs absolute? No. I'm absolutely sure of it.

10-30-2003, 03:19 PM	#9
external solipsism Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: San Antonio Posts: 840	The answer to this question obviously is no. If a thought was absolutely true, then it would not be a belief, but instead it woudl be a known fact. Now, perhaps you were trying to ask if anything can be known absolutely true? If so, then I woud have to answer the same. Nothing can be known to be absolutely true. At least not by any human. This is because humans are limited to a subjective point of view. We can only percieve things as they affect us. We cannot view the objective reality of existence. Thus, anything which would seem to be absolutely true, is built partially upon the accuracy of our perceptive faculties, as well as our mental interpretations of our perceptions. And with no way to be sure of those being absolutely and completely accurate, complete, fool-proof, and basically perfect, one cannot know anything for sure.... Except the fact that one eixsts. But that's what you all would expect me to say, right? heh

10-30-2003, 06:31 PM	#10
DBT Contributor Join Date: May 2003 Location: ɹǝpunuʍop puɐן ǝɥʇ Posts: 17,906	[QUOTE]Originally posted by external solipsism [B]The answer to this question obviously is no. If a thought was absolutely true, then it would not be a belief, but instead it woudl be a known fact. Thats right,also likes and dislikes and preferences of objective things are built on experience and have nothing to do with belief.

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