I think what they are trying to say is that the emotional experience they have when they look at a sunset is similar to the emotional experience that gives them conviction that there is a God. It's not a statement of objective fact about the universe and its processes; it's a statement about their mental and emotional life and how they want to feel inside their own head.
Although, maybe they are saying that no one knows how sunsets work and so therefore a wizard did it. I would hope it is that first thing though.
Th4tGuyII@fedia.io 4 months ago
In my experience of these zealot types, it's that they don't want to know the answer, and won't accept any answer that isn't literally bulletproof all the way back to the beginning of time - no matter what you tell them, God did it.
It's like playing a pigeon at chess. It'll shit on the board and then strut around like it won.
ameancow@lemmy.world 4 months ago
These are emotional people with absolutely no care or enjoyment for reason or logic or learning how the world works. I believe strongly that the way our brains develop as we grow, be it influences from environment or genes or upbringing, just can go in radically different directions. Kind of like how some people have no internal monologue, or some people can’t visualize images in their mind, I think some people can’t comprehend the world outside of a very “mystical” interpretation, even when taught how physics and evolution work, they still will see those forces as expressions of a mystical universe with a personal, subjective God who is trying to communicate with them.
You absolutely cannot reason with this kind of perspective because it’s not one of reason. The MOST you can hope for is getting them to feel something, and in this I have only ever found common ground in things like expressions of love for the universe or the beauty of nature, but that’s like one person going to the baseball game to watch the game, and the other to eat the food.
MonkderDritte@feddit.de 4 months ago
Well, you’re right.
jaden@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
Well that’s a fairly consistent pov. “God of the Gaps” is what it’s called. Ostensibly, that sort of person accepts new evidence for things, so it’s probably not one of the worst ways to think
MotoAsh@lemmy.world 4 months ago
No, it’s not “god of the gaps” to deny elementary school education.
This post is specifically selecting for the complete morons who won’t even listen to a basic explanation of refraction…
Th4tGuyII@fedia.io 4 months ago
Yeah, I'm aware of the "God of the Gaps" idea.
But that's not what I'm talking about, nor are those the types of people I'm talking about.
The zealot types don't just avoid learning about science, they actively oppose it. They ask questions like those @Ibaudia said not because they want to know the answer, but because they're trying to sow seeds of doubt into those who see them.
Those questions aren't made for you or I to answer - and if you do try, they'll shout you down or sandbag you until you give up.
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Quite fitting, then, that the Venn diagram of people who would literally shoot bullets at a question and people who are religious is pretty much a circle 😉