10 December 2008

truth and nietzsche

Nietzsche said "A belief, however necessary it may be for the preservation of a species, has nothing to do with truth"

So is Nietzsche saying that no matter what you believe in, if it helps you survive, and preserve the species, it could be false?
So the way I took this had to do with religion. There is always the concept in the back of your mind about, what if the world is going about this all wrong? Maybe Catholics chose the wrong religion and we're going to burn while the Buddhists reincarnate..

In the Simpsons and Philosophy book I read, it explains one episode entitled Homer and the Heretic, where Homer ponders the same things.
  • "What's the big deal about going to some building every Sunday, I mean, isn't God everywhere?"
  • "Don't you think the almighty has better things to worry about than where one little guy spends one measly hour of his week?"
  • "And what if we've picked the wrong religion? Every week we're just making God madder and madder?"
In the episode, Homer gives up church and decides to follow God in his own way: by watching the TV, slobbing about and dancing in his underpants. He justifies his actions with those three statements above.

Going back to Nietzsche, society may be only believing something that is entirely false, yet it is acceptable since this belief keeps society going. Although some are atheists or non-practicing, a lot of communities are held together by religion. Such a topic is hard for me to ponder since I enjoy fact, and I don't like not having all of the answers, but it is an important issue of human nature. It is in our nature to believe, despite not having any concrete evidence.

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