Proving the Proofs

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“Finite creatures always have to begin from somewhere. Finite creatures have to start. God has created us in such a way as to be able to reason axiomatically, and for that to be the only way we could be able to reason. These axioms can be of pure reason (parallel lines don’t cross each other), or practical reason (little boys shouldn’t tell lies to their mothers). Axioms do not need to be proved. To demand that they be proved is to demand that all our philosophy departments descend into a whirl of nihilistic madness. By demanding proof for everything, we have made it impossible to arrive at a proof for anything. When you demand a proof for everything, leaving no room for the axioms that can launch you, you are automatically exposed to the cold reality that there is no way to prove that proving things proves anything” (Mere Fundamentalism, pp. 80-81)