philbymon wrote:
Atheist liberals or religious conservatives?
(snip)
Take it away, Craig!
I don't argue the point that atheists and liberals "generally" have a higher IQ. Probably 5 or 6 points higher on average I would suspect.
The only problem here, may be the CONCLUSIONS drawn from such statistics. Some would infer that it is MORE INTELLIGENT to be highly liberal, and particularly... to be atheist, since people with higher IQ's gravitate to those beliefs (or lack thereof). But that conclusion would be dubious.
The reality of the situation is more like this...
ATHEISM:
People with higher IQ's find they can rely on their intellects for answers to many of their needs as well as solutions to many of their problems. This self-reliance, while good in one sense, unfortunately can then lead to the concept of.... "I believe what I can PROVE. Therefore, I don't NEED to seek a relationship with an INVISIBLE GOD, whose existence I cannot prove, and I will simply be god of my own life, since I get answers more readily, from my own thought processes.
This may be a PRACTICAL position to hold, but being "practical" does not prove or disprove the truth of something, nor does it make something morally correct or not.
For example... It could probably be proven that primitive peoples who are PHYSICALLY STRONGER would tend to dominate their cultures. Nations who are MILITARILY STRONGER may tend to dominate weaker nations. Populations who are primarily a certain color, may tend to dominate minority races in those countries.
Are any of those things MORALLY RIGHT?
They are probably STATISTICAL FACTS, but that does not make them moral, beneficial to society, or even LOGICAL for that matter. A highly intelligent person in a tribe of giant powerful warriors, may get overlooked as USELESS, and yet, he may have the intellect to make the ENTIRE TRIBE more productive, safer, and even more powerful militarily, with the potential for less casualties to the tribe, IF ONLY... his ideas would be given proper consideration.
Similarly, in my experience, wealthy people tend to fall away from religious conviction, or at least, they begin to practice a religion of SHOW, rather than a substantial religion of FAITH, SERVICE TO OTHERS, PRAYER, etc....
Why would this be?
Because, like the more educated LIBERALS, people with money, begin to rely on MONEY, rather than faith or prayer, or a belief in the divine, to see them through their problems. Money solves most of their problems (as intellect does for liberals) and so WHY DO I NEED GOD ANYMORE?
And yet, that humble (supposedly uneducated) belief in SOMETHING GREATER THAN SELF, in a divine power, who is concerned with the affairs of people.... that faith and belief, generally made that person a BETTER PERSON, morally and socially.
So, if we should draw conclusions, that people who are faithless, are smarter, than we can also draw conclusions that people without FAITH IN GOD, "generally" become selfish assholes, who prey on others for their personal benefit, while only being concerned with SELF.
It is a fact, that many marriages break up, after having won the lottery, or some similar windfall. I have seen COUNTLESS TIMES, where these same people CURSED the day they won the lottery. They claim they were HAPPIER, HAD MORE FRIENDS, and were LOVED MORE, when they were of lower circumstances, than when they were suddenly wealthy.
Being wealthy SHOULD give one an edge, over many others, just as having a higher IQ, SHOULD, give one an edge over others.
Clearly though, having an edge, does not necessarily make one's life BETTER, MORE PRODUCTIVE, or especially... MORE MORAL!
A higher IQ could certainly allow one to absorb more INFORMATION and therefore attain a superior education, or a larger collection of FACTS to be used at one's disposal, but it does not necessarily make someone a BETTER PERSON, A BETTER CITIZEN, A BETTER NEIGHBOR, a BETTER FATHER OR FRIEND, or even FIND MORE FULFILLMENT IN LIFE!
Sometimes a highly intelligent person OVERTHINKS things, like a relationship with a woman, for example. And all his learning, education and creative thinking may not solve his conundrums or doubts, and it may very well be, that someone supposedly less intelligent, comes to his aid and says.... "Hey man, you're thinking too much, over-examining the situation.... that girl would loves you... she would die for you... ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?"
To the supreme intellect, sometimes the OBVIOUS is not so obvious. Sometimes, a well meaning, PERSON OF MORAL INTEGRITY, with COMMON SENSE has more appropriate answers, and even BETTER answers, than seems to be allowed, when one has an extra portion of grey matter, compared to many others.
It's my opinion, there is a place, even a NEED, for BOTH!
We need liberal forward thinking minds at times, but we also need conservative, COMMON SENSE solutions and beliefs at other times. Otherwise, in the one case, we over-think, and over-rationalize issues, or in the other case, we fear trying to new ideas.
For myself, a very INTELLIGENT, but also very conscientious BELIEVER in God and "old fashioned" values, like truthfulness, and serving your neighbor, I find that the best place in life to be, is.... BALANCED, between these two possible extremes. Phenomenal dangers lie in wait, whether in extreme liberalism, or extreme conservatism. BALANCE, keeps these EXTREMES in "check", so that you benefit from the BEST of both worlds!
Superior intellects, through scientific means, can discover that racism is FOOLISH and UNNECESSARY, since beyond the difference in skin color, we are all 99.8% identical, and that there are actually more stark difference among people in OTHER AREAS, than in skin color. In fact, skin color, is probably the LEAST uncommon denominator among peoples of the world. Anthropologists have discovered that ALL HUMANS are of African decent, and that ALL OUR ANCESTORS migrated from Africa, into the rest of the world. Science can show us the INFERIORITY of racism, and possibly go a long way in helping eliminate it.
But conservative common sense, tells us that the methods being employed by our government are DESTRUCTIVE and HARMFUL to our economy. They wouldn't work in business, nor in personal finances for that matter. It is common sense that makes a statement like.... "There's something wrong with the idea, that the president took 6 MONTHS to find the perfect breed of family pet for his family, and yet wanted to alter 1/6th of our entire nation's economy, in less than 3 weeks! How is the decision of which breed of dog to choose, more carefully thought out, than what happens to our economy when 1/6th of our economy is altered, with only 3 weeks deliberations?"
And it is the RELIGIOUS among us, more than any other sphere, that act as the CONSCIENCE of our society, the caretakers of the poor and dispossessed, and the people who interject MORALITY into the conversation, when the intellectual elite would proceed with an agenda, that refuses to recognize PARENTS as the most important influences in their children's lives, or perhaps would save some obscure insect, at the expense of destroying the homes and livelihoods of dozens of families, who would then find themselves on the streets, while the insect's "home" was secured permanently.
Complex equations are not so easily answered, by a single statistical generality.
