PoetPhilosopher
Veteran Member
My personal journey began when I joined this forum in 2019, as a somewhat superstitious person. I had a penchant for woo, and I could rationalize my beliefs based on some of my life experiences - influenced by cultural factors, such as the opinions of my peers and the folklore of my background, etc.
My perspective changed when I watched some Critical Thinking videos posted by another member:
( I appreciate your contribution here, @Nimos , for showing me these videos.)
I embarked on a journey to better differentiate between the scientific and the non-scientific, as well as the pseudoscientific.
I learned that there is a context for rejecting pseudoscience (such as when it is proposed as a substitute for science), and a context for tolerating pseudoscience (such as when it is used for entertainment or socialization, without violating one's personal values, e.g. having one's tarot read by a friend, or discussing the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types).
I realized that part of my superstitious tendency, besides being cultural, was assuming that an event without an explanation, or a precise explanation, must be supernatural.
After watching the videos on Critical Thinking, I became a more skeptical and curious person. I am not ruling out the possibility of the supernatural and the paranormal, but I have a clearer idea of what would constitute a convincing test to verify these phenomena. I would require such a test to be falsifiable and reproducible.
For instance, regarding the topic of "ghosts", I would first want to determine whether they are supposed to exist in the physical world, or in some other dimension. If they are in the physical world, I would expect them to obey the laws and rules of the physical world.
Upon reflecting on this, I soon realized that the facts of a story, a personal account of events, do not necessarily imply the presence of ghosts. Ghosts are often more a matter of interpretation of the facts of a story.
For example, if a vase in the room fell inexplicably, it would be strange, but to remove the interpretation of the events, and to be more accurate, one might be better off saying "A vase fell, and I don't know why" than attributing it to ghosts.
Of course, there are still some things that elude my explanation, but I feel that learning more about Critical Thinking has improved my skills as a curious "detective", if you will, of whenever an unexplained event occurs.
One benefit of Critical Thinking for me, is that I realized that my previous deficiency in Critical Thinking was a specific "liability" in my life, and it hindered my potential for improvement.
I would also say that RF has been a stimulating opportunity for me of self-development, and a distinctive one because I arrived here as a somewhat "fragmented" person, and as I reassemble the fragments, I recognize that eventually, we may experience the first occasion of RF witnessing me "intact", and not just as a non-fragmented person, but as one who may have insights beyond what they did before they first became fragmented. New insights about religion, life, and many other subjects.
I would also say that when one looks at my journey, there is so much more to it than what's discussed here, especially along the way. In making this post however, I chose a subject I had spoke about in 2019, and I've tried to show my personal growth about it. From superstition to skeptic. And I chose a subject that - at least I hope - will have broad appeal, where both the theist and the non-theist might find something they like to read, despite it being written from the perspective of a non-theist.
My perspective changed when I watched some Critical Thinking videos posted by another member:
( I appreciate your contribution here, @Nimos , for showing me these videos.)
I embarked on a journey to better differentiate between the scientific and the non-scientific, as well as the pseudoscientific.
I learned that there is a context for rejecting pseudoscience (such as when it is proposed as a substitute for science), and a context for tolerating pseudoscience (such as when it is used for entertainment or socialization, without violating one's personal values, e.g. having one's tarot read by a friend, or discussing the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types).
I realized that part of my superstitious tendency, besides being cultural, was assuming that an event without an explanation, or a precise explanation, must be supernatural.
After watching the videos on Critical Thinking, I became a more skeptical and curious person. I am not ruling out the possibility of the supernatural and the paranormal, but I have a clearer idea of what would constitute a convincing test to verify these phenomena. I would require such a test to be falsifiable and reproducible.
For instance, regarding the topic of "ghosts", I would first want to determine whether they are supposed to exist in the physical world, or in some other dimension. If they are in the physical world, I would expect them to obey the laws and rules of the physical world.
Upon reflecting on this, I soon realized that the facts of a story, a personal account of events, do not necessarily imply the presence of ghosts. Ghosts are often more a matter of interpretation of the facts of a story.
For example, if a vase in the room fell inexplicably, it would be strange, but to remove the interpretation of the events, and to be more accurate, one might be better off saying "A vase fell, and I don't know why" than attributing it to ghosts.
Of course, there are still some things that elude my explanation, but I feel that learning more about Critical Thinking has improved my skills as a curious "detective", if you will, of whenever an unexplained event occurs.
One benefit of Critical Thinking for me, is that I realized that my previous deficiency in Critical Thinking was a specific "liability" in my life, and it hindered my potential for improvement.
I would also say that RF has been a stimulating opportunity for me of self-development, and a distinctive one because I arrived here as a somewhat "fragmented" person, and as I reassemble the fragments, I recognize that eventually, we may experience the first occasion of RF witnessing me "intact", and not just as a non-fragmented person, but as one who may have insights beyond what they did before they first became fragmented. New insights about religion, life, and many other subjects.
I would also say that when one looks at my journey, there is so much more to it than what's discussed here, especially along the way. In making this post however, I chose a subject I had spoke about in 2019, and I've tried to show my personal growth about it. From superstition to skeptic. And I chose a subject that - at least I hope - will have broad appeal, where both the theist and the non-theist might find something they like to read, despite it being written from the perspective of a non-theist.
