A Slight Disagreement

I’ve been thinking about Rand’s lecture “Faith and Force: The Destroyers of the Modern World." First delivered at Boston College in 1960, the lecture is an excellent discourse in defense of reason and rationality as a means to morality.

I have one slight disagreement with this particular lecture.  I do not think "Faith and Force" are the destroyers.  I think "Irrationally and Force" are the destroyers.

I think faith, standing individually, is innocuous.  Faith cannot harm you unless irrationality and force have replaced reason and rationality in interactions with other individuals.  If individuals claim their faith compels them to force others to conform to a proscribed mode of behavior, it is no longer faith.  It is simply irrationality and force masquerading as faith, with a cudgel in its hand.  Any organized religion which desires to force behavioral change on individuals, because their “faith” tells them to, has descended into moronic madness.  They have given faith over to irrationality and become evil incarnate.

Faith does not require any individual to force their viewpoint on another.  Individuals claiming to preach “faith,” but who in actuality desire to increase their power and influence, do.  And individuals seeking to increase their power and influence, who disguise their designs for power and influence under the veneer of faith, are, I think, the real source of evil in the modern world.  They are encouraging irrationality in place of reason to exercise control.  And though reason would refute there being a “God,” I think that “God,” as Marcus Aurelius wrote, is "pure reason" and faith in that could only be a good thing.  It is being "religious without superstition."

If this battle is to be won, faith is the wrong target.  Aim at irrationality.

Posted by on 03/21 at 10:01 AM

  1. Due to an error in updating my blog, the trackback points to social trivia instead of thoughtful commentary. The correct link is http://triticale.blog-city.com/read/537567.htm

    Posted by triticale  on  03/21  at  11:00 PM

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