shminux comments on The ethics of breaking belief - Less Wrong

16 Post author: thelittledoctor 08 May 2012 08:34PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (125)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: shminux 08 May 2012 10:18:47PM *  0 points [-]

"each theist" is the part of the claim that is too strong, since it would include, among others, the Pope, Mother Teresa and Osama bin Ladin. I grant that some techniques do work on some theists (and atheists).

Comment author: faul_sname 09 May 2012 12:51:53AM 5 points [-]

True, if you want to be pedantic about it. In fact, they probably wouldn't work on most theists in high-status positions. Think about how often you hear about someone "finding God/Allah/Jesus" at a low point of their life when they feel themselves to be failures. Now consider how often someone high-status changes their beliefs.

Comment author: thelittledoctor 08 May 2012 11:57:34PM 2 points [-]

Didn't see this! You're right, that is quite a bit too strong. Let me reduce the strength of that statement: Among theists to whom I have become close enough to ask deeply personal questions and expect truthful answers, such levers seem prevalent.