OK, so we understand that life is a series of problems to be solved…
and we have our tools that are needed to solve those problems…
the tools can be methods, the tools can be categories like
philosophy or religion, the tools can be ideologies like capitalism or democracy…
so we have several different ways to go about solving a problem…
first of all however, we have to figure out if we have a problem…
as has been stated, the first step to any situation is to determine if
there is a problem and then we can decide what tool we need to solve that
problem…
I have stated it before but I shall state it again… I believe that
belief in god, belief in religion is one of the, if not the greatest
obstacle to the betterment of the human race… I believe that
belief in religion has damaged the human race in ways we can’t even
understand…
I believe that religion/god is a problem that needs a solution…
upon what do I base that on?
belief in god/religion has lead people to certainty and the path
to wisdom does not lie in certainty but in doubt…
if we are certain, we don’t seek any other answers…
for example, if Einstein was certain that Newton was in fact right,
there would have been no reason for Einstein to search for a solution to
those problems… why search when you are certain you have the solutions already?
it is only in doubt that we make progress and solve problems…most all advances
in the world, scientifically and philosophical and socially are because of doubt,
not being certain…
so let us doubt…if you are certain the universe is a certain way,
that god exist and the goal of the universe is to die and be reborn
and spend eternity worshipping god in heaven…then no other possibilities
will occur to you, no other options will influence your thinking…why
entertain any other possibilities when you are “certain” that if you follow
the rules of god and you will die and be reborn into an eternal heaven, then
no other choices exist before you… that is the path of human beings, you don’t doubt it…
and therein lies the problem… you are so certain that no other choices occur to you…
your path is set and you cannot change your path without violating your basic core beliefs…
but the path to both individual and the species survival is this path of being able
to adapt to changes in the environment and changing your path… but you can’t change because
of your beliefs…progress, the ability to create solutions to any given problem lies
in the ability to adapt to new solutions and if you are already committed to one path
and one path only, you cannot find any new solutions to a problem…you cannot problem
solve because you are already committed to a certain problem (the only question to
the religious is how does one find salvation and what is the path to salvation… how to
saved is the only question that the religious seeks solutions to) but being saved is not
the only question human beings face and seeking religious solutions to every problem
is not a viable means of solving problems…but in doubt, doubt leads one to seek
alternative solutions beyond the religious solutions to the problems of being human…
the religious seeks religious solutions to every problem… but problems solving requires
one to adapt and understand what tools are needed to solve that particular problem and
quite often the religious solution is not the answer to any given problem…
so for global warming for example, the answer given by the religious is to trust
god… but that solution will only suffice if you actually believe in god or believe
in a religious solution to a scientific and social problem…
religious belief forces one on one and only one path when problem solving
requires individual and societies to seek many different solutions and this
is the problem with religions and religious belief… it only allows religious
solutions to political, scientific, philosophical problems… this is the failure
of religious belief… it only allows one path to a solution when we must
explore several different paths to find a solution to any given problem…
every problem to the religious is a religious problem and in real life
there are many different problems and many different solutions and
those solutions require thinking about problems not just from a religious
standpoint but from a scientific, political, philosophical standpoint…
we must open our eyes to finding solutions wherever a solution is found
be it scientific, religious, political or philosophical or even another
path outside of those listed…
the path to finding solutions is not ideological but practical…
given a certain problem, what possible solutions can be found…
and what methods or tools do we need to find a solution…
Kropotkin