Logic is a handy tool to tie things together, but it can be easily misused. Such as by assuming conclusions then using all evidence to support them. Just as a Spanish Inquisitor could justify any evil by referring to his inflexible beliefs: a witch, a Jew, or Muslim could only be saved in the eternal long run by torturing and killing them now.
A more relaxing example is Voltaire’s Dr Pangloss, so like us in believing that everything happens for good reason in this “best of all possible worlds.” I am reminded of him every time the news presents us with yet another victim of a disaster who dazedly claims how lucky or blessed they are to be alive.
We’re good at constructing story narratives of the meaning of our lives. Logic ties together events real and visionary into a tough fabric of belief. But…
At least the Spanish Inquisition had only a few models of what was “real truth” to choose from. Today there are a myriad of possibilities, still including all kinds of gods, but also conspiracies and any wild vision developed on the media.
I’ve tried to immunize myself a little by pitting intuition against logic. Trusting intuition is out of fashion, but I refuse to believe that eating this or not eating that matters much in spite of TV news. I would also hope that such an attitude would have helped me avoid cheering torture now for the later good.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 