How much of the whole fetishizing over ultimate truth in cults and other forms comes down to nothing more than "I had an experience in this particular way, so it must be the True Way(tm)"?
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Replying to
I think a lot of belief is based on experience. I got into an ontological discussion once with a theoretical physicist.
We spent a few hours working backward and eventually found that my experiences (using psychedelics) provided me with a basis for belief that diverged from his.
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Replying to
Oh, totally.
The problem (in my experience - gawd I'm so funny) is thinking that's something very special and particular to oneself.
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Put differently: we take our experiences and create an entire ontology around them. We note that everyone else is doing the same thing, getting wildly divergent ideas.
Then, like idiots, we start working on justifications for why our own ideas are particularly superior.