Philosophy Now Forum

You know, the funny thing is, it has always been theists, and polytheists, who have attributed meaning to the external world. And what a meaning. According to theists like Mr Can, the world exists purely so that human beings can demonstrate their resolve, by resisting the temptation to do anything ...

Ontological arguments take this form: 1. The concept of the greatest thing ever exists. 2. The greatest thing ever would be even better if it existed. 3. Wait a minute; I can conceive of something even greater than the conceptual greatest thing ever. 4. Since the concept of the greatest thing ever e...

A layman generates a theory to account for the phenomena that they are familiar with. So do scientists. No. a layman develops a theory to explain something they do not understand, a scientist develops a theory to explain what the do understand. Well, that's just you developing a theory to explain s...

...the implication seems to be that I should believe something I might wish were true. And why wouldn't you. You are not required to tell anyone. You can keep that belief to yourself. To believe that a man in history went to his death stating he was Christ is not particularly difficult. Atheist the...

Just how much of an ignorant layman or not I am is being shown, and will be seen. I have already admitted to being the most uneducated, simple and slow one. One reason I ask so many clarifying questions is so that you educated ones can teach Me what you actually do know. This knowledge is being sho...

It would be nice if anti-theists knew what they were talking about. Saying "There is proof that God does not exist" is like saying "There is proof existence does not exist." What they're actually saying is not quite that dumb, but it's close. They're actually saying, "There...

Sure - be naive and short sighted enough to be REQUIRED to believe in ALL of the buy bull. As it happens, I'm naive and short sighted enough to believe none of it. Yes, that's a shame. Well, we all have our cross to bear. You still are not grasping it. Let me give you two scenarios:- 1. There is NO...

A forklift did once run over my foot. Luckily, I was wearing steel toe capped boots at the time, unluckily, I also happened to be tying my laces when it happened. Sir, I salute you. That, in my book, qualifies as a very good joke. (To be honest, the only criterion I apply is how much it made me lau...

Why would your assumption be that a Theist was obliged to accept, not just a true view of God, but also every false, partially-false or confused version of God or gods? :shock: A theist is not obliged to believe a true view of god. Any old nonsense will do and given the vast range, the likelihood o...

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2017 3:34 pmIn logic, we would say that your syllogism depends on a vacuous middle term. And that means it cannot be verified at all.

Which, if you do the maths, works out at one third as vacuous as your arguments.

Sure - be naive and short sighted enough to be REQUIRED to believe in ALL of the buy bull. As it happens, I'm naive and short sighted enough to believe none of it. You still are not grasping it. Let me give you two scenarios:- 1. There is NO God and people actually burned to death, screaming in ago...

I was speaking more of an Atheist acting as a civilised human being, which, believe it or not, does sometimes happen. I never doubted it does. But if it does, it has nothing to do with his Atheism. For by lights of his Atheism, he should be amoral. Good grief. Even by your standards this is laughab...

The quality of the dance is determined by mating success. Humans' artistic mating display behaviours seem not wildly different. Well indeed. Birds use a variety of mating strategies: dance, song, home building, wealth, deceit and no doubt others that don't spring to mind. All of these require some ...

And how should i reflect in the knowledge that we are in some sort of 'God' system? No matter what this entity has done to me over the past 20yrs, and now stating to me daily that i am in fact - 'in heaven' - i earned it. And even tho i have hated this entity more than anyone could hate anything - ...

It's hard for me to think of a bird's dance as art. Whatever animals do that we can value from our human artistic perspective, is not art. The same way a sunset is not. Art implies a praxis which evolves in time and a key element is innovation, but our bird here most probably dances just the same a...