The Catholic Trilemma: Every Path Leads to Epistemic Vice
What must a Catholic do if they find evidence against the Marian dogmas persuasive and fall into doubt as a result? When you see what the Church requires, you discover a trilemma:
- Horn 1: Doxastic Coercion - Forcing belief against your better judgment.
- Horn 2: Cognitive Dissonance - Maintaining certainty while finding contrary arguments more persuasive.
- Horn 3: Suppression of Inquiry - Deliberately avoiding evidence that might generate doubt.
Every path leads to epistemic vice. Every path demands corruption of the intellect from the perspective of pursuing the truth. Catholicism demands such vice as the price of staying in the club when you fall into doubt.