Τα Chain Mail Ανακαλύπτουν το Facebook

Είναι πραγματικά εκπληκτικό πόσο εύπιστοι και κυριολεκτικά χαζοί μπορεί να γίνουμε μερικές φορές οι άνθρωποι. Ένα από τα πιο χαρακτηριστικά παραδείγματα μοντέρνας ευπιστίας, η οποία ορισμένες φορές μπορεί να έχει ακόμα και καλό σκοπό, αλλά μετά από ελάχιστη σκέψη φαίνεται στην καλύτερη περίπτωση απλώς χαζομάρα ενώ στην χειρότερη περίπτωση μπορεί να θεωρηθεί ακόμα και προσβολή της νουμοσύνης μας, είναι η προώθηση μηνυμάτων γνωστών ως «chain letters» (γράμματα αλυσίδας).

Advertisement

It’s OK for Scepticism to Yield to Humanism

An excellent post appeared today at the Skepchick blog. The post was authored by Sam Ogden, and it is called “Biting My Tongue For A Good Cause“.

Skepticism has certainly been on the rise lately and there are those of us who think that this is good. Requiring actual evidence before we accept, reject or suspend judgement on new information (as the Wikipedia defines skepticism) is a stand and outlook towards life that is logical, founded on the notion of a verifiable blend of empirical and scientific information. As such, it is often one of our best tools to understand reality and our own life.

There are still cases however when it may be OK for strong skepticism to yield to Humanism. Sam’s post describes one of these cases. Despite the fact that I am known for my tendency to argue for strong skepticism, sometimes even at the expense of my own personal relationships with other humans, I am really glad there are still people out there who value compassion for our fellow humans, dignity and the well-being of everyone else more than taking a fanatic stand behind a certain idea.

Thank you, Sam! You have taught all of us a valuable lesson about respecting our fellow humans and caring for those of us who are in a more difficult position than us.