“belief is only really worthwhile if you could, in principle, be persuaded to believe otherwise”
Such a great way to put it! I wish I had read this page a few years ago, when I was arguing with my dad about religion. I wasn’t able to coherently put this thought, though in retrospect I believe I was trying to get there. I ended up asking a hypothetical situation about advanced aliens visiting and telling him that his beliefs were wrong, and explaining why. He disappointed me with his answer: that he would like to believe he is strong enough in his faith to ignore the aliens. This is when I realized it would be fruitless to attempt to persuade him away from religion.
“belief is only really worthwhile if you could, in principle, be persuaded to believe otherwise”
Such a great way to put it! I wish I had read this page a few years ago, when I was arguing with my dad about religion. I wasn’t able to coherently put this thought, though in retrospect I believe I was trying to get there. I ended up asking a hypothetical situation about advanced aliens visiting and telling him that his beliefs were wrong, and explaining why. He disappointed me with his answer: that he would like to believe he is strong enough in his faith to ignore the aliens. This is when I realized it would be fruitless to attempt to persuade him away from religion.