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Epistemology

Epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief (1). There are a lot of related questions such as what justifies justified knowledge and beliefs? What conditions does knowledge need to meet to be considered knowledge? And so on.

Knowledge requires three things to exist:

1. A True Proposition: An expression in language or signs of something that can be believed, doubted, or denied or is either true or false(2). The proposition must be true for false propositions cannot be known.
2. Belief: Knowledge requires a belief for a proposition that someone does not believe can not be a proposition that a person knows.
3. Justification: To eliminate the possibility of luck the knowledge must somehow be justified.

Once all of these conditions are met you have what’s called a tripartite or a justified true belief (JTB).

The Gettier problem

The Gettier problem is concerned with condition number three: justification. It seems logical to ask, what is considered justification?  The Gettier problem has been explored at great lengths and two good online explorations can be found here and here.

What is Justification?

There are two kinds: internal and external. Internal deals with perception, introspection, memory, and rational intuition. Internalists say that these cognitive processes are reliable and so count as justification. Externalists argue that none of these are reliable enough to considered justification. There are, however, five commonly accepted sources of knowledge and/or justification:

• Perception: This involves our senses and has two schools of thought: direct and indirect realism. Direct realism says we can acquire knowledge because we can directly perceive things. Indirect realism says you don’t perceive something but rather the sensory data (or something similar) of the thing being perceived. Of course using perception as a means of justification and/or knowledge begs the question ‘are our sensory perceptions reliable?’ There is no way out of circular arguments about the reliability of sensory perception and so is therefore not typically considered a reliable source of true knowledge.
• Introspection: Introspection is a reliable way of understanding one’s state of mind but nothing else. Introspection can be unreliable in specific cases (i.e. mistaking an itch for a minor pain) but is almost entirely an infallible source of information of on our own state of mind.
• Memory: Memory is a problematic and unreliable source of knowledge and/or justification. It is because of this that in philosophical circles there are two types of memories: remembering (which entails truth) and seeming to remember.
• Reason: A reliable source of true knowledge and/or justification because it is a priori (prior to any kind of experience). A person is justified in believing a proposition if and only if their justification for believing that proposition does not depend on any experience. Experience being anything perceptual, introspective and memorial. An entire page will be dedicated to logic and a reason because understanding and knowing how to use it is very important in having a solid understanding of anything.
• Testimony: Testimonial knowledge/justification is  only as reliable as the source and so is not used as a source of information in scientific and logical matters.

Please read through the following sources to explore Epistemology further as many more issues and discussions remain such the limits of knowledge and justification and subtypes of Epistemology such as religious or feminist.

Sources:

1. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemology/
2. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proposition

Other Sources

1. http://www.philosophynews.com/page/The-Gettier-Problem-A-Study.aspx
2. http://www.philosophynow.org/issue/63/The_Gettier_Problem_No_Longer_a_Problem

Recommended Reading

1. Epistemology: The Theory of Knowledge (Philosophy in Focus) By Daniel Cardinal
2. An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume

A verbal argument ensued and Brown pulled the vehicle over on an unknown street, reached over Robyn F. with his right hand, opened the car door and attempted to force her out. Brown was unable to force Robyn F. out of the vehicle because she was wearing a seat belt. When he could not force her to exit, he took his right hand and shoved her head against he passenger window of the vehicle, causing an approximate one-inch raised circular contusion.

Robyn F. turned to face Brown and he punched her in the left eye with his right hand. He then drove away in the vehicle and continued to punch her in the face with his right hand while steering the vehicle with his left hand. The assault caused Robyn F.’s mouth to fill with blood and blood to splatter all over her clothing and the interior of the vehicle.

Brown looked at Robyn F. and stated, ‘I’m going to beat the sh– out of you when we get home! You wait and see!’

The detective said “Robyn F.” then used her cell phone to call her personal assistant Jennifer Rosales, who did not answer.

“Robyn F. pretended to talk to her and stated, ‘I’m on my way home. Make sure the police are there when I get there.’

After Robyn F. faked the call, Brown looked at her and stated, ‘You just did the stupidest thing ever! Now I’m really going to kill you!’

Brown resumed punching Robyn F. and she interlocked her fingers behind her head and brought her elbows forward to protect her face. She then bent over at the waist, placing her elbows and face near her lap in [an] attempt to protect her face and head from the barrage of punches being levied upon her by Brown.

Brown continued to punch Robyn F. on her left arm and hand, causing her to suffer a contusion on her left triceps (sic) that was approximately two inches in diameter and numerous contusions on her left hand.

“Robyn F. then attempted to send a text message to her other personal assistant, Melissa Ford. Brown snatched the cellular telephone out of her hand and threw it out of the window onto an unknown street.

Brown continued driving and Robyn F. observed his cellular telephone sitting in his lap. She picked up the cellular telephone with her left hand and before she could make a call he placed her in a head lock with his right hand and continued to drive the vehicle with his left hand.

Brown pulled Robyn F. close to him and bit her on her left ear. She was able to feel the vehicle swerving from right to left as Brown sped away. He stopped the vehicle in front of 333 North June Street and Robyn F. turned off the car, removed the key from the ignition and sat on it.

Brown did not know what she did with the key and began punching her in the face and arms. He then placed her in a head lock positioning the front of her throat between his bicep and forearm. Brown began applying pressure to Robyn F.’s left and right carotid arteries, causing her to be unable to breathe and she began to lose consciousness.

She reached up with her left hand and began attempting to gouge his eyes in an attempt to free herself. Brown bit her left ring and middle fingers and then released her. While Brown continued to punch her, she turned around and placed her back against the passenger door. She brought her knees to her chest, placed her feet against Brown’s body and began pushing him away. Brown continued to punch her on the legs and feet, causing several contusions.

Robyn F. began screaming for help and Brown exited the vehicle and walked away. A resident in the neighborhood heard Robyn F.’s plea for help and called 911, causing a police response. An investigation was conducted and Robyn F. was issued a Domestic Violence Emergency Protective Order.

Fox News’ Andy Levy said it right:

I would like to apologize to everyone for using Twitter to subtlety address the fact that I think it’s disgusting that a guy that put his girlfriend in the hospital can, a mere two years later, be warmly welcomed back in society and appear on shows such as Saturday Night Live as if everything he did magically never happened.

One of, if not the best, way to stop domestic violence is to make it socially unacceptable. So far Chris Brown’s successful post assault career shows that this is not the case if you are a celebrity singer. Perhaps these TV spots will remind everyone why Chris Brown should not have the fame and acceptance that he does:

Understanding domestic violence. As a humanist I believe this is another issue that deserves that kind of attention that religion and God now gets. Anyone with an ounce of courage and love has a duty to call the police and get a person help if you recognize it. (Borrowed from here):

General warning signs of domestic abuse

People who are being abused may:

• Seem afraid or anxious to please their partner.
• Go along with everything their partner says and does.
• Check in often with their partner to report where they are and what they’re doing.
• Receive frequent, harassing phone calls from their partner.
• Talk about their partner’s temper, jealousy, or possessiveness.

Warning signs of physical violence

People who are being physically abused may:

• Have frequent injuries, with the excuse of “accidents.”
• Frequently miss work, school, or social occasions, without explanation.
• Dress in clothing designed to hide bruises or scars (e.g. wearing long sleeves in the summer or sunglasses indoors).

Warning signs of isolation

People who are being isolated by their abuser may:

• Be restricted from seeing family and friends.
• Rarely go out in public without their partner.
• Have limited access to money, credit cards, or the car.

The psychological warning signs of abuse

People who are being abused may:

• Have very low self-esteem, even if they used to be confident.
• Show major personality changes (e.g. an outgoing person becomes withdrawn).
• Be depressed, anxious, or suicidal.

Speak up if you suspect domestic violence or abuse

If you suspect that someone you know is being abused, speak up! If you’re hesitating—telling yourself that it’s none of your business, you might be wrong, or the person might not want to talk about it—keep in mind that expressing your concern will let the person know that you care and may even save his or her life.

Do’s and Don’ts

Adapted from: NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence

Help for victims of Domestic Violence

In the US: call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE).
UK: call Women’s Aid at 0808 2000 247.
Canada: call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-363-9010.
Australia: call 1800RESPECT at 1800 737 732.
Worldwide: visit International Directory of Domestic Violence Agencies for a global list of helplines, shelters, and crisis centers.

For a safe place to stay:

In the US: visit Womenslaw.org for a state-by-state directory of domestic violence shelters in the U.S.

In Canada: Go to shelternet.ca or call thee National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−SAFE(7233) or TTY 1−800−787−3224.

Driscoll reveres masculinity even in matters that seem merely aesthetic: He’s a fan of mixed-martial arts but calls yoga “demonic.” If Mars Hill’s discipline practices are indeed oppressive, it’s hard not to make the connection to Driscoll’s fascination with powerful manhood.(Stale 2012)

Graham continues:

Mars Hill is nondenominational, which means it doesn’t formally answer to any outside institutional bodies, so Driscoll holds the power. He has preached against “sinning through questioning” and once said publicly he would like to “go Old Testament” on dissenters. He has reported that he can sometimes “see things” about his members’ past sins.

The psychological issues of someone needing power and control are now commonly known. What better than religion to provide this for Driscoll?  Driscoll is so determined to control his followers they even need to sign a contract called a ‘covenant’ that says:

I covenant to submit to discipline by God through his Holy Spirit, to follow biblical procedures for church discipline in my relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ, to submit to righteous discipline when approached biblically by brothers and sisters in Christ, and to submit to discipline by church leadership if the need should ever arise.

One doesn’t need to look up the definition of fascism to understand just how unbelievably tyrannical this is.  Graham goes on to explain just how brutally Driscoll ostracized a member for cheating on his fiancee. Although cheating is a deplorable act Driscoll’s punishment was hard, fast and forced his follower to fight back. This incident also forced the important question  of just how much control anyone should have over another person’s personal life.

Incidents like this need to be talked about, it helps remind everyone  just how dangerous religion is. Cults like traits don’t need to be apparent for religion to be tyrannical either. All a person needs is a Bible,  a Koran or other ‘holy’ book to exercise complete control over entire civilizations, as modern Islamic republics demonstrate.

Driscoll and others may end up doing the cause of freedom a service. By serving as constant demonstration of why the world is better off when religion either doesn’t exist or is so minimized it no longer has the influence it needs to endanger people the way it does.

Comments Will Be Closed on The Atheism library

After much thought I have decided to leave comments off on any of the atheism pages. The first reason being is the articles are introductory. Some of the topics really can’t be thoroughly explored in one article  Second and most importantly the articles are not intended to be the final word on the subject being discussed. The articles exist to put the ideas out there for people to read and make up their own mind about. This, I believe, encourages people to think for themselves. If you find one or all of them wrong then that’s great. If you agree with one or all of them that’s great too. This entire blog exists to educate. The ideas are here, do what you want with them.

God exists and cares for his creation -> God can hear me if I pray-> Therefore, if I pray God may help me.

There are other reasons for praying such as gratitude and worship but the most hope comes from  the kind of prayer that believes God can and does help worshipers. Of course this logic makes a lot of assumptions:

1. God exists: A pretty big assumption. This is a belief that defies logic.
2. God cares: Even if God does exist given the suffering in the world it is hard to believe that God cares much for us.
3. If I pray God may help me: A belief only supported by anecdotal evidence that both the teller and receiver accept at face value.

There is no evidence that prayer works at all. The scientific community has looked at the subject and all reached the same conclusion:

American Heart Journal: ‘Intercessory prayer itself had no effect on complication-free recovery from CABG, but certainty of receiving intercessory prayer was associated with a higher incidence of complications.’
Harvard: Prayer Not Effective In Reducing Complications Following Heart Surgery
Mayo Clinic:  ‘As delivered in this study, intercessory prayer had no significant effect on medical outcomes after hospitalization in a coronary care unit.’

What these studies proved is not just that prayer is ineffective but should never be a replacement for professional medical care. Providing people with false hopes is always dangerous.

So where is the hope?

In you, that’s where. It sounds cliche but all the power of hope comes from within you. It comes from a fundamental belief that you can make it through whatever challenges may come your way (optimism) and if you don’t a little acceptance that you are only human goes a long way. There are many  worldly sources of hope that deserve appreciation such as:

Art: Painting, sculpture, music and culture. A visit to a natural/cultural museum always restores my faith in humanity. A faith, I might add, that was just reinforced with tangible evidence.

Friends and family: This is also common sense. Religious fundamentalist often say that unbelievers can’t have real family love. The truth is we often value it much more because of the simple realization that they are all we’ve got. Seriously, who can’t look at their child’s smile and not have all the hope they need?

Life Itself: Nature in all its glory is an amazing thing. A single leaf on a tree has thousands, possibly millions of cells (themselves sophisticated and incredible). It is capable of changing sunlight and water into energy for the tree it is attached to. there are hundreds and maybe thousands of these on a single tree. As long as we are alive we are able take deep breaths of clean air, enjoy great foods, great fun and great company. Life is is full of wonder, hope and amazement if you want it to be. For those that it is not we can take hope is trying to help them restore theirs.

Wherever your hope comes from it is just fundamentally more powerful and proactive to take it from within life itself. By doing this we begin to better appreciate and respect our life and the life of other people. Imagine if  fundamentalists worshiped life as much as they do God how much better off we all would be.

• Community/Social: Religion gave people something in common with their neighbors. Single churches, synagogues and temples served as a center for community and socialization for entire cities.
• Cultural: There is no denying how much culture religion provided for early civilizations. Countless works of art, music, architectural wonders and invention have been inspired by religion.
• Ethics: Early civilizations also benefited from moral guidance provided by religions when we were still learning how to treat each other and behave. Religions also gave an early way to enforce whatever was considered acceptable.
• Existential: Religion gave meaning and purpose to early cultures that were still struggling with philosophical questions about life and death.

Religion was so much of a help to early civilization it took complete control of it in most parts of the world. The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England, Islamic and Jewish Councils etc. came to rule with power parallel with the governments of the countries they existed in, sometimes greater. Well all know of the chaos, incalculable misery and suffering that ensued. We still have an incredible amount of problems.

As civilizations grew religion slowly started to see more and more criticism and rebellion.

• By the middle ages great schizms began occurring within the great religions. Other religions began to surface out of discontent with existing ones.
• Into the Renaissance philosophers and historical figures began to criticize religious belief.
• It wasn’t until this past century that religions started coming under heavy criticism, there was even ‘open’ atheists.
• Finally over the past 50 years or so more and more are letting go of religion and are feeling free to criticize it. We are even seeing the benefits of countries being religion free.

It hasn’t been an easy journey to feeling free to criticize religion.When criticized the religious can get rather defensive as the crusades, witch burnings, inquisitions and other kinds of chaos, murder and mayhem still proves every single day. John Lennon, an icon of love and peace, received nationwide ridicule and death threats for an offhand remark that the Beatles were ‘bigger than Jesus’. Salman Rushdie still lives under an Islamic death threat for writing a book. There is no doubt that the religious feel entitled to special treatment and get offended when  their beliefs are are criticized.

First off let me be clear how I feel about being offended, nicely articulated by Steve Hughes.

Is it wrong mock, ridicule or offended religion? Clearly Not. When one considers the colossal suffering religion has brought into the world it is impossible to believe that religion deserves special treatment.  As James Spader (as lawyer Alan Shore) in Boston Legal so eloquently put:

And I don’t know about you, but I’m getting a little tired of this whole “freedom of religion” thing. I mean, when did religion get such a good name anyway? Be it the Crusades, the Reformation Genocides, the troubles in Northern Ireland, Middle East, mass slaughters in the name of Allah, as well as the obligatory reciprocal retribution. Hundreds of millions of people have died in religious conflicts. Hitler did his business in the name of his Creator. 9/11 was an act of religious extremism. It is, in fact, our greatest threat today — a Holy Jihad. And if we’re not ready to strip religion of its sacred cow status, why don’t we at least scale back a bit on the constitutional dogma exalting it as all get-out?

We are talking about criticizing their religion, not them as a person. Unless you know a person really well personal attacks and premature judgements of their character are immature and ignorant.I will rarely attack a person for being religious and would never take away their freedom to practice it. But I will criticize their religion, sometimes pretty harshly. Given religion’s ongoing history there is nothing sacred about it and so if they get offended, at the risk of sounding immature, I can’t help but want to say ‘Cry me a river’.

“Let me just tell you something. For hundreds and thousands of years, this kind of discussion would have been impossible to have, or those like us would have been having it at the risk of our lives.

Religion now comes to us in this smiley-face, ingratiating way – because it’s had to give so much ground, and because we know so much more. But you’ve no right to forget the way it behaved when it was strong, and when it really did believe that it had god on its side.” Christopher Hitchens

1. An undermining of evolution
2. Vague Goals
3. Not enough guidance for teachers on how to integrate the history of science and the concept of scientific inquiry into their lessons
4. Not enough math instruction.

One and three stand out to me the most. First off the undermining of evolution; I know it is childish but I really hope Richard Dawkins and other champions of evolution give a big ‘I told ya so’. The religious right has been adamant that it not be taught, abusing their influence, ignoring anything that disagrees with them and now their own children are paying the price.

Secondly, the problem integrating history and scientific inquiry into lessons. I am baffled at why in a science class they can’t integrate scientific inquiry. Isn’t that like teaching wood-crafting without know what wood is? This is also a vital life skill, teaching our children how to examine things scientifically empowers them to thrive in post secondary environments and in daily life it guards them against fraud and gullibility.

This report should be brought in every time the ignorant fight to keep their children that way too. Considering the size, power and influence of the United States on the world this is a sad and frightening situation. (original article)

To be fair Morgan has a case, the article was widely read and very damaging.  Zenon avoided directly attacking Morgan in most of the article in fact the most direct attack I could find was a picture caption:

‘Game’s up: An audience member claims he heard a man’s voice feeding information to Sally Morgan over a microphone’ (The Daily Mail)

However the article does feature Morgan and so the courts will have to decide if it was enough of a focus on Morgan to be considered libelous.

Fortunately Zenon and The Daily Mail have the truth on their side and their legal case could include:

• There is no credible scientific evidence for the existence of ‘psychic’ powers.
• What tricks Morgan and others like her use and why they are misleading
• The harms that her services cause.

Any of this going into permanent legal record could one day save a lot of suffering.

If the courts finds in favor of the Daily Mail it could very well be the end of Sally Morgan. She is taking a very large gamble, she will have to put all of her cards on the table in her defence. Will her hand be exposed for the bluff that is? I hope so, it could do the world and the cause of truth (one of the most noble) a lot of good.

The judge’s words for all three was music to my ears. I really wish I could have told them myself.

It is difficult to conceive of a more despicable, more heinous crime. The apparent reason behind these cold-blooded, shameful murders was that the four completely innocent victims offended your completely twisted concept of honour, a notion of honour that is founded upon the domination and control of women.”

Staring hard at the defendants, the judge said:

“There is nothing more honourless than the deliberate murder of, in the case of Mohammad Shafia, three of his daughters and his wife, in the case of Tooba Yahya, three of her daughters and a stepmother to all her children, in the case of Hamed Shafia, three of his sisters and a mother.”

Couldn’t have put it better myself. A good day for justice and modern morality.

Conspiracy theories:

Conspiracies do exist from small time neighborhood plots to vast government cover-ups; this is a fact of reality. These are not the conspiracies we are concerned with in this article it’s what some sceptics refer to as PCT’s or Paranoid Conspiracy Theories as the UK Skeptics accurately describes:

Paranoia figures strongly in the theories put forward by PCTs. Whether it is governments colluding with alien powers, the Illuminati plotting the New World Order, drug companies withholding cancer cures so they can keep selling expensive drugs, or governments mind-controlling populations by sending signals from mobile-phone masts, there is a common theme behind the supposed conspiracies: a malevolent intention by some hidden power.

There isn’t a lot of serious research on why  people can end up being a paranoid conspiracy theorist  but in a book by Tom Melley called Empire of Conspiracy  he explores the psychology of Conspiracy theories. Psychology Today writes:

Melley proposes that conspiracy thinking arises from a combination of two factors, when someone: 1) holds strong individualist values and 2) lacks a sense of control. The first attribute refers to people who care deeply about an individual’s right to make their own choices and direct their own lives without interference or obligations to a larger system (like the government). But combine this with a sense of powerlessness in one’s own life, and you get what Melley calls agency panic, “intense anxiety about an apparent loss of autonomy” to outside forces or regulators.

When fervent individualists feel that they cannot exercise their independence, they experience a crisis and assume that larger forces are to blame for usurping this freedom. “For one who refuses to relinquish the assumptions of liberal individualism, such newly revealed forms of regulation frequently seem so unacceptable or unbelievable that they can only be met with anxiety, melodrama, or panic.”

The rise in anxiety, individualism, and external locus of control may therefore underlie the rise in conspiracy thinking.

Melley is one of the very few I have found that have seriously studied the subject but I was able to find one other good, scientific look:

Conspiracy Theories and Conspiracy Theorizing By Steve Clark

Paranoia:

The “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”, fourth edition (DSM-IV), the US manual of the mental health professional; lists the following symptoms for paranoid personality disorder:

• preoccupied with unsupported doubts about friends or associates
• suspicious; unfounded suspicions; believes others are plotting against him/her
• perceives attacks on his/her reputation that are not clear to others, and is quick to counterattack
• maintains unfounded suspicions regarding the fidelity of a spouse or significant other
• reads negative meanings into innocuous remarks
• reluctant to confide in others due to a fear that information may be used against him/he

Causes

1. Feelings of Inferiority: Low self-esteem and self-worth.
2. Emotional disorders and complexes: There are many like Social Anxiety Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder and depression.
3. Personality: Upbringing and personal experience.
4. Heredity: Hardwired for paranoia and suspicion. I.e. Paranoid Schizophrenia.

More Information

PCTs have found a natural home on the Internet where their beliefs are supported and enhanced by the communal reinforcement offered by like-minded people. (UK Skeptics)

There are many popular Conspiracy Theories, here are a few:

• September 11th: The newest and possibly the most popular conspiracy theory. Theorists believe that the attacks on the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon were part of a government conspiracy to give them an excuse to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. They believe that the Jetliners that crashed into the towers were a distraction from what was actually a controlled explosion carried out by the government. Here is a closer look.
• Vaccinations: Vaccinations are dangerous they can cause many serious health issues and are even cited as causing Autism or so conspiracy theorists believe.  I did an article on this last year.
• John F. Kennedy Assassination: Decades later this conspiracy theory still has many believers. The belief is that the late president was assassinated by his enemies because of his strong, liberal leadership. Lee Harvey Oswald was a fall guy for the true assassin that was from some government agency. There was a lot of confusion and bungling in resulting investigations and so conspiracy theories abound. The Wikipedia entry is a good starter look at the subject.
• Aliens: Conspiracy Theorists believe a wide variety of things about aliens from visits by extra terrestrial life and abductions to government complacency of alien control of our entire planet. It’s hard to pinpoint a single good resource but the Roswell incident and Area 51 are quite popular.

This is a handful of some of the more popular conspiracy theories; there are hundreds and quite possibly thousands.

The truth is anyone can believe anything they want no matter how out of touch with reality it may be. You can even believe in things as bizarre as shape-shifting lizardmen from outer-space disguised as world leaders in order to control our planet (a list of some really far fetched conspiracy theories) or anything you want to. The trouble with PCTs lies in ethics:

2. They are simply untrue: Paranoid conspiracy theorists spread their ideas as true despite lack of or easily refutable evidence. Deliberate or not this is lying.
3. They foster unreasonable fears in the masses: The kind of fear conspiracy theorists generate is unhealthy, even dangerous. There is nothing moral in causing people this kind of undue stress and dismay.
4. They are a waste: Too much time, energy and resources are put into conspiracy theories when there are far bigger, more realistic problems.

Fear Mongering

Also known as scare tactics fear mongering is the deliberate use of fear to manipulate people. This can be used on a personal level in things like bullying or it can be used on large groups such as when Churches tell members about the possibility of hell for ‘sinners’, it is even used on the societal level by dictators and unscrupulous politicians for power and control over entire civilizations. The media is also a major offender of fear mongering bringing  doom and gloom to the masses every day.

Conspiracy theorists use fear mongering to try and get people in agreement with them even though they do not reach their conclusions in an unreasonable or scientific manner (control).

A person has a right to believe what they want and express it in anyway they choose, I would support this to the death no matter how absurd, crazy, irrational…etc.  that belief may be. But every thinking person must take offense to a belief or idea when it causes people to be afraid of things they don’t need to be. No one should deny a paranoid conspiracy theorist their right to express their ideas but no one can deny our right to express what is wrong with them. This is what all freethinkers should always do. Factual knowledge of all kinds needs to be out there in libraries, schools and cyberspace. If even one person sees this blog and decides, for example, to have their children vaccinated after all then it will have served its purpose.