May 10, 2006

A Little Lie Never Hurt Anyone

I don't often congratulate myself (well, actually, yes I do). But I just left a really good comment on GodolHador's recent post on "truth." To fully get it, watch the Mormon episode of South Park (the last two minutes are the best; warning: some harsh language, but totally worth it).

If Charedim are guilty of anything, it's a lack of sensitivity to the reality of the world outside their conceptual shtetl, and perhaps a smidgen of misguided enthusiasm. Labeling them as sheker is, however, nothing short of a patent falsehood.

Posted by Greg at May 10, 2006 10:34 AM in , | TrackBack
Comments

I hesitate to intrude upon your joy, but with all due respect to your two-dimensional LDS friend, it's a bit of an oversimplification (okay, patent falsehood) to suppose that all is light and flowers within the Chareidi enclave.

I'm not saying it's worse than elsewhere, but the South Park version is not quite accurate.

- Moishe Potemkin

Posted by: Moishe Potemkin at May 11, 2006 5:54 PM

Obviously; I'm not saying anything about the current state of affairs. The point is that there really isn't anything inherently wrong with having beliefs that aren't true, if they don't cause suffering to others, and even more so if they make the world a better place.

Posted by: Greg at May 11, 2006 8:21 PM

If the ends justified the means, we'd never die. The means are the end.

By (my) definition, having beliefs that aren't true makes the world a worse place. I'm going to disagree with you again.

Posted by: Moishe Potemkin at May 11, 2006 8:33 PM

You're free to believe whatever you like. By my defintion, even though you're wrong, the world isn't any worse off.

Posted by: Greg at May 11, 2006 9:12 PM

By the way, the Rambam says like me in the introduction to the Moreh.

Posted by: Greg at May 11, 2006 9:14 PM

1) Unfortunately, the world is worse off because you're wrong. Ah, well. Such is life. We'll get you there. Other folks are far wronger.

2) Well, duh. For inconsequential people, perhaps, ignoring the inevitable impact that they have on those who matter. Besides, as we now know, he was led astray by his Aristotelian inclinations...

Posted by: Moishe Potemkin at May 12, 2006 8:40 AM

Maimonides wasn't led astray; given his druthers he would have said like you do, but he had to find some way to reconcile the hard fact that the Torah preaches these things and that most people accept them at face value.

Posted by: Greg at May 12, 2006 9:33 AM

Perhaps if I were to utilize one of those jejeune happy-face glyphs, my sarcasm would be more apparent.

Yeesh.

Posted by: Moishe Potemkin at May 12, 2006 9:58 AM