Puddle Jumping

For the first time in my life, upon hearing someone say "well, that's a matter of faith[1]," it occurred to me of a sudden, in a rush of utter clarity, that faith is only a metaphysical hypothesis based on accepted propositions. They may be right or wrong, but the principle is no different than a scientific hypothesis based on physical observations.

In other words, the "leap of faith" meaningfully connects pieces of a construct, satisfies a need, fills a gap, makes sense, etc, in a way that others can review and debate in an equally meaningful way.

(It's very different from "I believe ancient astronauts built the pyramids, now let's discuss why you think I'm wrong." That's not what I'm talking about.)

Faith need not be a trans-oceanic "I believe despite my senses," it can (and should) be more of a puddle jump, "I believe because of my senses."[2]


This seems so obvious to me now, I'm sure many have come to the same conclusion; philosophers have been doing it for thousands of years, I just never connected that discipline with faith. Bear in mind, none of this speaks to the accuracy of a metaphysical hypothesis, only that it parallels what we do every day in science or anything else.

(Eg, "I liked that French restaurant yesterday. I may have a taste for French food. I will try some more French restaurants to verify this is true." After a few more visits, I may have refined my hypothesis to "I have discovered that I have a taste only for French pastries. I will experiment with a few more French restaurants to be sure this is true."

We may not think we are doing this, but indeed we are.)

c0

[1]
Raymond de Souza, columnist, priest and Christian apologist. As he said that, I was leaping with him; I don't recall the context, but I think I may actually have been ahead of him, and when I realized where he was going, I thought, "No wonder I am here."

De Souza is funny, sincere, meticulous, and has the most delightful accent; that may sound pandering, but it's not meant to. His rhythm is easy on the ears.

[2]
I have a story that I might someday share. There is some validity to personal religious experiences, eg, "I know how I feel even though I can't prove it to you." It's of the same sort as being the only witness to a falling leaf or a shooting star or a jumping fish. And at some point, after all, I am not obligated to prove it to anyone, just embrace it and share it, which I do here in this blog pretty regularly.

FWIW, we can believe nothing apart from our senses, so to say that faith somehow informs us apart from our senses is nonsense.

c0

Started: 2013-02-14