Establishing belief in rationality in irrational people

שו”ת › Category: faith › Establishing belief in rationality in irrational people

asked 3 years ago

Hello Rabbi,
The question is based on the series “Faith” on the Rabbi’s YouTube channel. I watched the lessons a while ago, so I apologize in advance if I am not accurate in the details.
How can one say that the demand to believe on the part of God is an epistemic demand to investigate reality and arrive at it using rational tools when so many people (I estimate that most of them) are unable to do this? Most of them will not be exposed to the tools that allow them to decide rationally in their lifetimes, and I assume that many also do not really have the cognitive abilities necessary to make such a decision.
So many people in the public behave in this way of deciding according to “what feels right to me” and perceive faith in this way, both those who believe and those who do not. The question arises, at least for me – after all, God is the one who created us humans this way! How can it be possible to demand from humans a demand that is so clearly contrary to their nature and punish them for not complying with it?
Another issue that bothers me more specifically in this context is women. For years I was very much a feminist on this issue, I thought that the demand for rationality from women must be equal to that of men, and I believed that they were also capable of it. However, I encountered *complete* rejection of this idea from the women themselves, aversion to any confrontation of their worldview with contradictions within it and a point of view on its irrationality. One even told me that for years she tried to be a feminist on this issue, until she realized for herself that she was acting according to what felt good and comfortable to her, and was unable to act otherwise.
Am I indeed correct in my understanding of the situation regarding women? (I would be so happy if the Rabbi would enlighten me and show me why I am completely wrong.) If I am indeed correct, how is it possible that God’s requirement is completely opposite to the nature of half of the human race? How is it possible that a being was created that is so clearly contrary to the basic requirement of Him?

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מיכי Staff answered 3 years ago

You are attacking something here that I never said. On the contrary, I have said more than once that there is no requirement to investigate matters of faith. A person must come to the conclusion whether he believes or not, and his way of doing so depends on him, on his inclinations, his skills, and his interests. If there is a person who comes to the conclusion that there is a God by virtue of simple intuition alone, he is a person of faith no less than I am. There is no halakhic obligation to be a philosopher. There is an intellectual and human advantage to being a philosopher, but that is another matter. This is not a halakhic requirement. Regarding women, I also get the impression that there is a difference in this regard. They are also less interested in logical issues and less likely to formulate positions in this way. This is my impression, although it is not supported by a systematic survey. Incidentally, recognizing this difference does not contradict feminism.

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שרוליק replied 3 years ago

Perhaps I exaggerated the degree of rationality required, but what I meant was what the rabbi talked about in the series – People who decide whether to believe or be religious based on what “feels good to me”, the fact that I raised is that most people decide like that and not even based on intuition while asking themselves “Do I indeed believe that God exists”, and from that I asked the question. If the rabbi thinks this is a wrong diagnosis, I would love to know why.

Beyond that – If indeed the epistemic demand of God from man “satisfies” with simple intuition, what about ordinary people who just thought about the question of whether God exists for five seconds and came to the conclusion that their intuition is that it does not? Is it really possible to accept their failure to observe the commandments in such a situation, assuming that they met the level of scrutiny that was expected of them?

מיכי Staff replied 3 years ago

I will repeat what I say. It is permissible to rely on intuition, one way or another. It is our most fundamental tool, and we cannot do without it. Philosophical analysis only takes intuitions from power to action.
But intuition does not mean thinking for five seconds and just deciding. A person needs to examine himself and decide what he believes. It is not a question of how long it takes but of honest self-examination. That is all.