THE 'GATWICK CITY OF IDEAS' DISCUSSION FORUM

Discuss - Prof. Symonds, over to you!

Will it make an iota of difference to you what I think...or write

Surely we don't blog just for ourselves or each other - it's intended to educate the swinish multitude [like the Brains Trust!]

People blog (write) for a myriad of different reasons. We need to blog together because it's only by working together that we will save ourselves...

In that case. Richard, please stop implying that I am unreasonable over this or any other topic. I am waiting to be convinced that the existence of a 'supernatural' realm and of 'gods' is more likely than not. But you can't produce any EVIDENCE, can you? Until you or someone else does, I shall continue to think that such beliefs do humanity far more harm than good. Even if they were true they still would!

My contribution, friends.

Belief in the supernatural is irrational, I have no doubts about it, but it has become intrinsic to the human way of thinking. Spirituality to most humans is a kind of haven, of refuge against all unknown - and known - ills, and therefore must be respected by those who do not believe as those who do not believe must be respected by the believers. This is called coexistence.

Harmful?, well in my opinion it is not harmful provided it is not used against one another.

"Irrationality" is the product of a logical, scientific (fallible) human mind.

"Rational", scientific thinking has advanced a specialised area of knowledge - which has also given Man the ability to destroy its planet many times over.

But the "rational", scientific mind has nothing to say in other area of human knowledge - such as the spiritual - and if it does make 'know-it-all' pronouncements on such matters, they sound absurd to any thinking/feeling person who is a 'trinity' of rational, non-rational and irrational.

Authentic spirituality is non-rational, not irrational. It has nothing necessarily to do with religious belief, although religions have produced some great spiritual mystics.

As for whether belief in the 'supernatural' is harmful, Jose hits the nail on the head when he says "no, provided it is not used against one another".
If you look around today's world, can you deny that it increasingly is? Belief in the supernatural is productive of great evil.

Spirit? What is spirit? Can we consider spirit the innermost arcane in the human being which conditions our so-called heartfelt behaviour? Is it really mysterious or is there any explanation to give about the spirit?

If blood does not circulate in our brains it seems our spirit suspends its activity. I say it seems because nobody so far - correct me if I am wrong - has established as a fact that the blood has nothing to do with the functioning of our brain, in fact a simple, minute clot can do the task of suppressing any neural feelings in our body, whilst we are not sure whether the spirit goes on "working".

So must we consider that that spirit is in fact a condition inherent to the human anatomy related to the blood stream and the complicated system of veins and arteries that is a fundamental part of our organism?

One other aspect to be considered is that human being born with unusual impediments, such as Down Syndrome individuals, impediments that the Science has not been able to find a solution to. Are these human beings born with the same type of spirit we are born with?

And what about what education, breeding does to the human being as far as the spirit is concerned? Why are we not all equal in that connection? Are we born all equal, generally speaking, and our behaviour is conducted by the education we receive and the experiences we live along our lives or are there differences in the way we are conceived?

Sorry, friends. Too many questions.

Jose, I think the answer to your first questions is 'yes' - spirit is an integral part of the human system; there is nothing 'supernatural' about it. The confusion is a semantic one which stems from outdated dualistic philosophy which mis-states the nature of the relationship of mind and body [which are in fact different aspects of a unitary whole].

As to your second question, education - especially when it is of a religious nature - is all too often indoctrination rather than, as it should be, a drawing out of the budding intelligence to think for itself. Remember the Jesuit saying: "Give us a child until he is seven, and he is ours for life."

No-one is stupid unless they have suffered physical brain damage. Most people are capable of far more acute thought and reasoning than they customarily use. But they can be rendered mentally lazy and dull by poor and doctrinally biased teaching.