I became an orthodox Jew after doing some independent reading and studying from the age of 14
Does that mean you’re a convert? I hear that’s not a trivial matter...
I feel my knowledge is fractured and chaotic
I hear you! =) I’ve found a useful way to organize my knowledge is to think about the epistemic bases for the various types of knowledge, i.e., “how do I know?” Scientific, common sense, philosophical, mathematical, something I heard at the pub… etc.
I don’t care if I get voted down to hell for saying that (I don’t believe in hell anyways). That is just how I’m feeling personally at this point in life. I’m not here to get high karma...
Well, first of all, I doubt you’ll get voted down severely for merely identifying as a theist, but you will if you make arguments for theism that display some obvious mistakes the community recognizes.
Don’t worry too much about karma anyway. It’s mostly for keeping comments relevant to the subject at hand, so we can have a discussion of, say, “ethics from a materialist perspective” that actually gets off the ground, without constantly having to reinvent the wheel and argue materialist vs. theistic ethics from the ground up.
That said, however, pay attention when you’re downvoted a lot, as it probably means that several members of the community think you made a mistake in reasoning.
That said, however, pay attention when you’re downvoted a lot, as it probably means that several members of the community think you made a mistake in reasoning.
This is generally relevant and well said. I’m stealing it for the post, if you don’t mind.
Does that mean you’re a convert? I hear that’s not a trivial matter...
I hear you! =) I’ve found a useful way to organize my knowledge is to think about the epistemic bases for the various types of knowledge, i.e., “how do I know?” Scientific, common sense, philosophical, mathematical, something I heard at the pub… etc.
Well, first of all, I doubt you’ll get voted down severely for merely identifying as a theist, but you will if you make arguments for theism that display some obvious mistakes the community recognizes.
Don’t worry too much about karma anyway. It’s mostly for keeping comments relevant to the subject at hand, so we can have a discussion of, say, “ethics from a materialist perspective” that actually gets off the ground, without constantly having to reinvent the wheel and argue materialist vs. theistic ethics from the ground up.
That said, however, pay attention when you’re downvoted a lot, as it probably means that several members of the community think you made a mistake in reasoning.
Welcome! =)
This is generally relevant and well said. I’m stealing it for the post, if you don’t mind.
By all means!