I've been thinking about this for a while now, and the recent breatharian thread got it back in my head.
I generally give people plenty of leeway to be weird. I mean, who am I to judge? However, sometimes I just can't help but be concerned about people's mental well being.
Where do you draw the line between say speaking with gods and auditory hallucinations, or practicing magic and delusion?
I tend to think about things in terms of my experiences. I know something is real if I can hold it in my hand or see it with my own eyes. Therefore it makes me really uncomfortable to think about how my perceptions could just, one day, decide to be wrong for a change. Or that they might already be, and I just haven't noticed.
At least when it comes to keeping an eye on myself, I try to keep three things in mind.
One: Peer verification, as in comparing my perceptions to those of others. Two: Self reflection, as in asking myself why I believe the things I do. Three: Where's the harm, is what I am doing hurting anyone. (Including myself)
That still leaves the problem of other people though. Then again, I tend to write off other people's problems as none of my business. As long as I don't think they're likely to be dangerous in some fashion, then how can it be my business?
I mean, who cares if someone believes in fairies or the healing power of love? So long as the fairies aren't telling them to kill, or they think their diabetic child doesn't need insulin if they just love them hard enough. Then it becomes a problem.
Even though I tend to dismiss people's paranormal/supernatural experiences out of hand, I am still open to the possibility that weird stuff happens. I just think that “weird stuff” will always have a rational and natural explanation. Even if it is not always immediately apparent.
So, my socks could have been stolen by gnomes. In as much as something conceivably gnome-like absconded with them, but it is infinitely more likely that they just fell behind the dryer or between the couch cushions.
As Foreman said, “When you hear hoof beats, think of horses and not zebras.” Then again, as Sherlock Holmes said, “Eliminate all other factors and the one which remains must be the truth.”
I'm just going to stop here, before I just spiel ever onward into an essay on my (Atheistic) views on the world. So, let's bring it back to y'all then. Thoughts?
I generally give people plenty of leeway to be weird. I mean, who am I to judge? However, sometimes I just can't help but be concerned about people's mental well being.
Where do you draw the line between say speaking with gods and auditory hallucinations, or practicing magic and delusion?
I tend to think about things in terms of my experiences. I know something is real if I can hold it in my hand or see it with my own eyes. Therefore it makes me really uncomfortable to think about how my perceptions could just, one day, decide to be wrong for a change. Or that they might already be, and I just haven't noticed.
At least when it comes to keeping an eye on myself, I try to keep three things in mind.
One: Peer verification, as in comparing my perceptions to those of others. Two: Self reflection, as in asking myself why I believe the things I do. Three: Where's the harm, is what I am doing hurting anyone. (Including myself)
That still leaves the problem of other people though. Then again, I tend to write off other people's problems as none of my business. As long as I don't think they're likely to be dangerous in some fashion, then how can it be my business?
I mean, who cares if someone believes in fairies or the healing power of love? So long as the fairies aren't telling them to kill, or they think their diabetic child doesn't need insulin if they just love them hard enough. Then it becomes a problem.
Even though I tend to dismiss people's paranormal/supernatural experiences out of hand, I am still open to the possibility that weird stuff happens. I just think that “weird stuff” will always have a rational and natural explanation. Even if it is not always immediately apparent.
So, my socks could have been stolen by gnomes. In as much as something conceivably gnome-like absconded with them, but it is infinitely more likely that they just fell behind the dryer or between the couch cushions.
As Foreman said, “When you hear hoof beats, think of horses and not zebras.” Then again, as Sherlock Holmes said, “Eliminate all other factors and the one which remains must be the truth.”
I'm just going to stop here, before I just spiel ever onward into an essay on my (Atheistic) views on the world. So, let's bring it back to y'all then. Thoughts?
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