[MF] MOQ: valuable or not?

[david buchanan]

Sam and all MOQers:

I thought there wouldn't be enough time to reply to your post, Sam, but its 
much, much shorter after all the insulting and irrelevant comments are 
deleted.

Sam said:
...about 'responding to the content of the disagreement'. Let's get specific 
again. The particular issue in play here is emotion, and the role that 
emotion might play in a wider intellectual understanding.

dmb replies:
No. That's not the issue. The role of emotion in cognitive function is not 
in dispute. If you recall, we were talking about Sam Harris and the tactics 
used by those who want to have their beliefs walled off from inspection. And 
one of those tactics is a kind of emotional blackmail. Its like I complained 
about bank robbers and you replied by insisting that people need money. I 
mean, the undisputed idea that emotion plays a role in our intellectual 
understanding is simply not relevant to the evasive tactics Harris and I are 
complaining about here.

Sam said:
Your argument is that emotion is simply biological level - and this is based 
on particular assumptions about what 'emotion' is. My view is that 'emotion' 
is central to our intellectual decision making process and that it therefore 
cannot be restricted to the biological level - this is why the MoQ needs to 
be amended. In making this argument I am drawing on various contemporary 
philosophers who...

dmb replies:
No. I don't restrict emotion to the biological level nor do I subscribe to 
the enlightenment paradigm of a rationality born without parents. In terms 
of the common emotions such as love and hate, fear, anger, jealousy, etc., I 
think emotions are largely social, are about the ego. I draw on various 
contemporary thinkers too, especially Wilber. And I do not deny the notion 
that emotions play a vital role in the developmental process, that there is 
such a thing as emotional intelligence, emotional health and maturity or 
anything like that. Again I was talking about evasions, about the refusal to 
explain the meaning of statements such as "God is Love" and "I have a loving 
relationship with Jesus". I'm talking about the rules of debate, not the 
structure of consciousness. If I may summarize the exchange in a one-act 
play...

CURTAIN OPENS

dmb says:
People who make theological statements SHOULDN'T get off the hook with 
respect to clear explanations and intellectual inspections.

Sam answered:
Emotions are important, you idiot liar bigot.

CURTAIN CLOSES

The absurd non-sequitor isn't very dramatic or entertaining, but you see my 
point. And please notice that the statements originally under scrutiny have 
still not been explained. Sam, I can only think of two reasons for your 
posting such an irrelevant response. You're trying to change the subject or 
you don't understand what the subject is. Either way, my objections have not 
been addressed and my questions have not been answered.

After a heap of insults, Sam said to dmb:
Do you know what the really bizarre thing is? I'd still like to buy you a 
beer.

dmb says:
I'm skeptical about the truth of that statement and the idea of being in the 
same room with you makes me very uncomfortable, but thanks anyway.

P.S. To all those who have blamed themselves since Sam's emotional outburst, 
its not your fault.

P.S.S. I was driving through the mountains the other day when I noticed a 
church sign. It was a pagan church and the sign said, "Mars is War". As a 
man who has a loving relationship with Mars, that really hit home with me. 
As a devout Martian I took great satisfaction in seeing that great and noble 
truth reduced to something that could fit on a bumper sticker or a campaign 
button. I was heartened to see that my spiritual bretheren had adopted the 
communication techniques of Madison Avenue. I prayed to Mars by the side of 
the road, I decided to commit myself to the path of war and my soul was 
transformed as my heart filled with hate and anger. If you doubt the truth 
of what I say, read my papaer, all my posts for the last several years and 
read my favorite books on the topic and then just believe it. Maybe then 
I'll answer your bigoted, anti-Martian questions ;-)

Respectfully,
dmb

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