To Jim Washburn: Atheists are the only ones with critical thinking skills?
Claire E. O'Connor claireoc@softdisk.com
Sun, 07 Dec 1997 21:08:22 -0600 (00881572102, 348B64A6.75BC@softdisk.com)
Jim Washburn wrote:
>
> CLAIRE
> There are people on this list who seem to think that atheists are the
> ONLY rational, intelligent people in this world - the only ones who
> possess knowledge of the "truth". One person cited my belief in
> transubstantiation as evidence that I am an irrational person with no
> critical thinking skills. He can't "disprove" transubstantiation any
> more than I can prove it. (It's a metaphysical belief.) He was making an
> unfounded assertion.
>
> WASHBURN
> Claire needn't have avoided mentioning my name. It was I who claimed
> that critical thinking isn't consistent with belief in
> transubstantiation.
>
> That claim isn't dependent on disproof of transubstantiation (which
> disproof I never claimed to be able to demonstrate), only on the fact
> that there is no evidence on which to base belief in transubstantiation
> other than the say-so of the RC church. People who believe things for
> which there is no evidence other than someone's say-so, and which
> involve supernatural effects which have never been observed anywhere at
> any time, and which are extremely unlikely, are not critical thinkers.
> The appeal to "metaphysical belief" could quite obviously be invoked to
> support ANY BELIEF WHATSOEVER as consistent with critical thinking.
>
> So long as Claire continues to believe in transubstantiation but can't
> offer ANY hard evidence in support of that belief, I, for one, can't
> consider her a critical thinker, or a competent judge of critical
> thinking.
>
> Jim Washburn
CLAIRE
Dear Jim:
You are assuming because I hold SOME beliefs that you consider to be
"irrational", that ALL of my beliefs are irrational, and I have no
critical thinking skills. What you are saying is that atheists are the
ONLY people with critical thinking skills (in any area). Now I
understand!
~Claire O'Connor