[Buddha-l] NYTimes.com: Let Us Pray for Wealth

[Richard Hayes]

On Tuesday 06 November 2007 14:27, L.S. Cousins wrote:

> >I'm sorry, but I simply do not acknowledge the validity of
> >your claim, so I find your finger-pointing a distressing deviation from
> >clarity in your thinking that I have come to admire.
>
> So should we not examine the evidence ?

That would require first establishing what counts as evidence. I am not sure 
how one can find evidence in this kind of thing that is not in some way 
question-begging.

> But what I said was that Buddhism 'has a better track record in this
> area.' I can think of other areas where e.g. Christianity has a
> better track record.

I suppose what I find troublesome is the very idea of talking of track records 
at all when dealing with such ill-defined subjects as Buddhism and 
Christianity. It is not entirely clear how one could decide who counts as a 
Buddhist and who counts as a Christian. If one cannot decide that, then one 
does not even have a subject about which to begin collecting data.

> There was and is no intention either to 'sew harmony' or to sew
> disharmony, only to establish truth.

The question of whether Christians (whoever they may be) or Buddhists (whoever 
they may be) have a better track record in some area seems to me one of those 
areas in which there is no truth to the matter.

> I think I understand where you are coming from. But I simply don't
> think one should deny facts just because acknowledging them might be
> misused by some.

I think the question has been set up in such a way that there are no facts to 
be either affirmed or denied. What one is trading in here is mostly 
prejudice.

-- 
Richard P. Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico
http://www.unm.edu/~rhayes