What makes fantastic declarations believable is, in part, the vehemence with which they're proffered. Again, in the world of spirituality as well as of pop psychology, intensity of personal belief is evidence of truth. It is considered very bad form - even abuse - to challenge the veracity of any personal testimony that might be offered in a twelve-step group or on a talk show, unless the testimony itself is equivocal... Whatever sells, whatever many people believe strongly, must be true.
There's a way in which all of these grazers at the spirituality buffet are performing a service, because you could argue that grazing leads to a kind… - Wendy Kaminer
There's a way in which all of these grazers at the spirituality buffet are performing a service, because you could argue that grazing leads to a kind…
- Wendy Kaminer
I don't see a direct conflict between the rights of individuals and the rights of communities, because I don't perceive of communities as having righ… - Wendy Kaminer
I don't see a direct conflict between the rights of individuals and the rights of communities, because I don't perceive of communities as having righ…
I don't spend much time thinking about whether God exists. I don't consider that a relevant question. It's unanswerable and irrelevant to my life, so… - Wendy Kaminer
I don't spend much time thinking about whether God exists. I don't consider that a relevant question. It's unanswerable and irrelevant to my life, so…
What might once have been called whining is now exalted as a process of asserting selfhood; self-absorption is regarded as a form of self-expression. - Wendy Kaminer
What might once have been called whining is now exalted as a process of asserting selfhood; self-absorption is regarded as a form of self-expression.
The phenomenal success of the recovery movement reflects two simple truths that emerge in adolescence: all people love to talk about themselves, and … - Wendy Kaminer
The phenomenal success of the recovery movement reflects two simple truths that emerge in adolescence: all people love to talk about themselves, and …
In its more authoritarian forms, religion punishes questioning and rewards gullibility. Faith is not a function of stupidity, but a frequent cause of… - Wendy Kaminer
In its more authoritarian forms, religion punishes questioning and rewards gullibility. Faith is not a function of stupidity, but a frequent cause of…
The press and the public like certainty and affirmation of popular biases. But real science thrives on the capacity for doubt. - Wendy Kaminer
The press and the public like certainty and affirmation of popular biases. But real science thrives on the capacity for doubt.
Faith is not a function of stupidity but a frequent cause of it. - Wendy Kaminer
Faith is not a function of stupidity but a frequent cause of it.
We don't cut off the hands of thieves or castrate rapists. Why must we murder murderers? - Wendy Kaminer
We don't cut off the hands of thieves or castrate rapists. Why must we murder murderers?
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