Search found 738 matches

by John
Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:46 pm
Forum: Introduce Yourself
Topic: New to PN
Replies: 4
Views: 2761

Re: New to PN

Hi, welcome to the forum.
by John
Fri Sep 03, 2010 3:45 pm
Forum: Articles in Philosophy Now
Topic: An Amoral Manifesto (Part I)
Replies: 77
Views: 30189

Re: An Amoral Manifesto (Part I)

I read it more as a statement on the implications of whether morality was dependent on God. Marks' conclusion seems, to me anyway, to be that human being can still act ethically even without the concept of morality that religion has given us. So even if we accept the "no morality without God&qu...
by John
Thu Sep 02, 2010 11:57 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Science
Topic: Hawking
Replies: 20
Views: 7660

Re: Hawking

Not theological or interesting really, just the same old claim that you have no way to be certain about your claim. Actually, I apologize for even making the comment, as this is such tired ground. Old habits die hard I guess, my bad. Typist, have you read William James' lecture The Will to Believe ...
by John
Thu Sep 02, 2010 11:51 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Science
Topic: Hawking
Replies: 20
Views: 7660

Re: Hawking

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing." This seems to be saying the law of gravity existed before the universe itself. Fine if he proves it, but it begs the usual questions of where did gravity come from, or maybe it was always there...
by John
Thu Sep 02, 2010 7:19 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Science
Topic: Hawking
Replies: 20
Views: 7660

Re: Hawking

Rortabend wrote:I'm not sure Hawking is claiming anything. It's more likely to be his publisher misinterpreting the book for a press release!
Very possibly. It's hard to offer much comment without reading the book. Typical press shorthand and simplification often doesn't help.
by John
Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:50 am
Forum: Introduce Yourself
Topic: Greetings
Replies: 1
Views: 1475

Re: Greetings

Hello, and welcome to the forum.
by John
Fri Aug 20, 2010 9:40 am
Forum: Philosophy of Science
Topic: On Time and Archaeology
Replies: 128
Views: 48441

Re: On Time and Archaeology

Saw this on the BBC news site this morning: Universe likely to grow forever, scientists say. Thought it might be of interest.
by John
Wed Aug 18, 2010 2:03 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Science
Topic: "X shares Z% of its DNA with Y" means what?
Replies: 8
Views: 3769

Re: "X shares Z% of its DNA with Y" means what?

According to http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/project/journals/insights.shtml "The human genome sequence is almost exactly the same (99.9%) in all people." I think the important part there is probably "sequence". To take the book analogy, two books might share t...
by John
Wed Aug 18, 2010 9:36 am
Forum: Applied Ethics
Topic: Teen Shot Dead By Police Officer
Replies: 81
Views: 33194

Re: Teen Shot Dead By Police Officer

Assuming the events are substantially as reported, the victim deserved to die, as does anyone who brings a baseball bat to a gunfight. The world has one less idiot now. Of course he didn't deserve to die. And that's not the same as saying the cop had no option but to shoot him but how can anyone sa...
by John
Mon Aug 16, 2010 10:18 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Science
Topic: God doesn't play dice: cause and effect
Replies: 24
Views: 10969

Re: God doesn't play dice: cause and effect

Can evolution be possible by chance? No, because “ The second law of thermodynamics “ says the Universe as whole goes to cold equilibrium ( T=0K) , to regress, to death. So, by chance evolution is impossible. How do you know what's happening in the universe as a whole? applying the second law of th...
by John
Thu Aug 12, 2010 2:06 pm
Forum: Philosophy of Science
Topic: Economics and epistemological naturalism: a request
Replies: 4
Views: 2811

Re: Economics and epistemological naturalism: a request

How about thermoeconomics? Not that I'm actually familiar with it beyond what Wikipedia has to say about it.
by John
Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:23 pm
Forum: Introduce Yourself
Topic: Hey friends :)
Replies: 4
Views: 2196

Re: Hey friends :)

If there was a degree course that guaranteed you earnings of a million a year I think it would be a tad oversubscribed :lol:
by John
Fri Jul 30, 2010 10:58 pm
Forum: Introduce Yourself
Topic: Hey friends :)
Replies: 4
Views: 2196

Re: Hey friends :)

Welcome and good luck with your studies.

Out of interest, what would your family have preferred you to study?
by John
Tue Jul 20, 2010 8:13 pm
Forum: Introduce Yourself
Topic: Hello
Replies: 2
Views: 3538

Re: Hello

Welcome Philosophicalpoet.

nicoledc109 is almost certainly a spammer, or at least not a legitimate new member, though. New profiles have been registered in that name on dozens of forums over the last few days and any message is the same as the one seen here.
by John
Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:36 am
Forum: Philosophy of Religion
Topic: A Challenge to Richard Dawkins and the Atheists
Replies: 1888
Views: 384420

Re: A Challenge to Richard Dawkins and the Atheists

If God is good then goodness, and thus morality, must exist outside of God so it is perfectly possible for the atheist to be moral. Perhaps the atheist has to discover morality for themselves but what gurantee does the religious person have that the morality their religion teaches them hasn't been ...