Rationalism
Definition
Rationalism describes any philosophy that claims that beliefs and opinions should always be logical, deductive conclusions rather than being based on experience, observations, religious teachings, or divine revelation.
Keywords: Rationalism, Philosophy, Logical, Reasoning, Deductive, Experience, Observations, Religious, Revelation, Contradictory.
Veracity
Rationalistic claims are false .
Proof
All self-refuting or contradictory claims are deductively false.
Premise 1: Only deductive conclusions should be believed.
Premise 2: Premise 1, being the foundation or starting point of the philosophy, is not itself a deductive conclusion.
Conclusion: Therefore, premise 1, also known as "rationalism", should not be believed.
Rationalistic claims, when adhered to, require the rejection of rationalistic claims. To accept them is to reject them, making rationalism inherently contradictory and deductively false.
Gilbert Guttlebocker, Defender of Dragons
Riveting, yet absurd; romantic, yet innocent; Gilbert Guttlebocker, Defender of Dragons is a little Roald Dahl, a little Harry Potter, and a little Chronicles of Narnia, all rolled into one. Timothy McCabe collaborates with the great Benedict Ballyhoot to bring you the novel of the century!
In Printed Form
Along with numerous other authors including Don Landis, Bodie Hodge and Roger Patterson, Timothy McCabe contributes analyses of various world religions and cults in this volume from Master Books.
Other Writings
"If the book of Genesis is not to be taken literally, why did god send himself in human form to die in order to save us from a symbolic sin committed by metaphorical characters (Adam and Eve) who never existed?"
The Apostle Paul compares Jesus to Adam in the book of Romans, chapter 5, verses 12-21, and in such a fashion that if Adam were not a real man, one would have to conclude that Christ were not either. In Luke 3, the "beloved physician" Luke provides a Genealogy of Jesus including his step-father Joseph, King David, his father Jesse, Boaz (husband of Ruth), Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Shem, Noah, Seth, and (yes) Adam.
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"Are all presuppositions equally valid? If not, how does one determine which are more valid than others?"
Internal consistency is the most common method I know of for determining the truth value of presuppositions. The test of internal consistency is what presuppositional reasoning is all about. If, for example, a view presupposes "A" and "not-A" at the same time and in the same way, then, in that worldview, reasoning, knowledge, learning, meaning, morality, science, mathematics -- everything -- becomes utterly incoherent.
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"If our choices are predetermined, how are they real choices? And how are we accountable?"
We know that our choices are predetermined because we, and everything in our world, was made by God, who knows all things and is also the author of time. He thus logically predetermines, and causes, our choices. So then, how are they "real" choices? That depends on what "real" means. If "real" means "not predetermined," then our predetermined choices are obviously not "real" choices.
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