I think being Cartesian has helped us all out a lot (ethically, scientifically, historically, etc.) Back in the day if we saw this crazy thing happening to a woman of God we'd totally buy that she was divine. The implications of believing something that is false (I'm again using my own judgement that it was false) would be huge! There are a lot of corrupt individuals out there that would use these 'miracle' for so many icky things (power and profit). We need to think about phenomenas like this so that we aren't tricked to believe in something that is not good or just.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Thank goodness for thinking
I am not a overly religious individual. I do believe there is a God and that there is an afterlife, but I am not a devoted church-goer and I do not believe in every scripture ever written. Therefore, when I saw the Blessed Teresa I automatically started to "watch myself think" as Robin said in lecture. I didn't believe it, but I was sure there was some reason this little old lady was bleeding all over other than God's presence . Descartes inhabited my thoughts in how I believed that if we spent enough time thinking and analyzing this phenomena we'd figure out Blessed Teresa's little secret.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you when you say that we cant believe every unexplainable thing is supernatural. However, that doesn't mean we have to assume right away that they're NOT supernatural. You present this as a duality: either you believe it all or you don't believe any of it. Yet i think that very few things can be truly black and white like this. Fausto-Sterling battles this kind of thinking in the beginning of her book. I believe we must approach "supernatural" phenomena with caution and rationality, however we must still keep an open mind for the possibility.
ReplyDeleteI don't think her story (whatever its origins) would WORK, absent Cartesian reason. It's that she's SO impossible and horrifying that gives her value and meaning.
ReplyDelete