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3RU7AL

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free will
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@Mopac
Chaos is simply the perception of disorder. This is not the same as saying something is random. It is impossible to prove that anything is truly random.
What appears to chaos can in fact be so grand in its order that the order that constitutes it can no longer be perceived.
Anton Webern's music might sound random to some, but his compositions tended to be an extreme example of order.
Causal = logical progression = cause and effect = predictable

Non-causal = non-logical non-progression = no cause = unpredictable (essentially indistinguishable from random).

If you are arguing that "nothing is random", then you are a determinist.
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A question
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@Wrick-It-Ralph
The mind itself is not subjective.
Your mind is only knowable from your perspective.  Your mind seems "objective" but only to you, because you find it impossible to deny.

I however, can quite easily doubt your mind.
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A question
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@Wrick-It-Ralph
Senses are not subjective, your mind is subjective.  The senses are objective because your sensory organs don't have opinions.  They merely get stimulated and send signals.  So they're objective. 
Sample bias is a form of subjectivity.

Your senses do not feel everything and they can be fooled and they can interpret the same information different ways. [LINK]
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free will
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@Mopac
All-the-variables are (EITHER) causal (OR) non-causal (random).

We don't need to identify "every single variable" because we know with 100% certainty that they are inevitably in one of these two categories.
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Is it irrational to believe that no God or god(s) exist?
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@Outplayz
To say the universe 'may' need some kind of builder isn't an illogical assumption to make.
Let's approach this tautologically.

Either there is a "universe builder" or there is not.

If there is a "universe builder", what are the practical implications?

If there is not a "universe builder", what are the practical implications?

Since the practical implications are identical, we can conclude that the existence or non-existence of a "universe builder" is moot.
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Is it irrational to believe that no God or god(s) exist?
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@secularmerlin
Do you need a reason to believe that universe creating pixies do not exist? Do you neither believe nor disbelieve in leprechauns? I have a hunch that your default position in most undetermined cases is skepticism and that the only thing you "need a reason to believe doesn't exist" is in the case of god(s).
Well stated.
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free will
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@Fallaneze
Under determinism, all beliefs that people accept would be the result of mindless forces and since mindless forces cannot rationally accept beliefs, our beliefs could not be rationally accepted. 
I love this game of words.

Yes, the "mindless forces" that cause a zygote to grow into an infant and that prepare your brain to accept input from your eyes and ears and skin are the same "mindless forces" that actually form your brain.  And the "mindless forces" that circulate your blood and digest your food and fire neurons inside your head are responsible for your "thoughts" (along with some measure of randomness of course).

Mindfulness or "consciousness" is merely the end result of a trillion "mindless forces" all working together.
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Am I A Christianophobe?
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@Stephen
Yes vile in the extreme, isn't it? In fact the whole 36 Chapters of Numbers are pretty vile. In fact over 90% of the Old Testament is vile with war, murder, rape, slavery, incest, plagues, famine and executions by beheading. What's your point? By continually trying to contextualise the ancient Hebrew Old Testament - a book that even the Jews didn't, don't and never have recognised as ' their scripture ' with today's Islam in the 21st century is irrelevant. Continually trying to strike an  balance of violence between Christianity and Islam is a non starter too.  All apologists for Islam do this when they are all out of argument trying to defend the violence practiced and carried out against non believers by muslims in the 21st century on the instructions of their god and written in their book.  So you  keep those OT verses coming, throw as many as you like, but they are all irrelevant.Just to remind you; this thread is actually about me and if I am or am not  "christianophobic", because I have started more threads debunking, questioning and scrutinising Christianity, than I have Islam, yet no one seems to mind and never have accused me of being a christianophobe. Yet  when I talk about Islam  I am a bigoted, racist far right "islamophobe" who is no better than the KKK and a preacher of hate, fear & division. I haven't accused ALL muslims of having "serious mental issues" and  in dire need of psychiatric attention like someone here has done. I understand perfectly that the largest amount of the victims of islam are actually muslims.
I'm by no means a defender of religion, but I feel compelled to point out that quoting the Quran as "proof" that Muslims are "crazy" seems a bit disingenuous if you don't leap to the same conclusion for Christians and Jews and Hindus and even Buddhists.

All of these groups have committed atrocities at some point against somebody.

And yet, all of these groups also contain perfectly reasonable, kind-hearted individuals.

For example, nearly all KKK members are Christians.  Does this mean that all Christians are in the KKK or tacitly support them?  Of course not.
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free will
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@Fallaneze
By independent agency I mean a faculty of consciousness that has room to rationally accept beliefs. 
When I claimed that determinism could not be rationally accepted if it was indeed true, you said you disagreed with that claim. Please explain how determinstic chemical reactions are a force that can rationally accept beliefs.
You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think It means...

Rational

  • adjective Having or exercising the ability to reason. synonymlogical.
  • adjective Consistent with or based on reason or good judgment; logical or sensible. [LINK]
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free will
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@Fallaneze
Your objection to the argument is not clear to me. Beliefs, like determinism, could not be rationally accepted because the forces that would determine which beliefs are accepted are not rational. 
All decisions are either logically inevitable (OR) non-causal (random), or a combination of the two.

(IFF) you propose that "the forces that would determine which beliefs are accepted are not rational [logical]." (THEN) you must be suggesting that they are at least in-part, non-causal (random).

This combination of causal and non-causal events is known as (in)determinism.
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free will
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@keithprosser
choice to accept determinism would not and could not be rational.
it seems to more like an argument that choice does not exist rather than choice being rational or irrational.
Simply because our language is built around the presupposition of freewill, does not itself exonerate freewill from its logical incoherence.
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free will
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@Mopac
And I believe it is a huge mistake to think that either requires a greater burden of proof when science itself has conclusively proven that it is impossible to account for all variables.
All-the-variables are (EITHER) causal or non-causal.

They might be "hidden variables" but we know with 100% certainty that they are (EITHER) causal or non-causal (or some combination of the two).

There is zero alternative.  It doesn't matter if you propose the influence of ghosts, angels, spirits, magic, or gods.

Even ghosts and gods (EITHER) act with intent, based on a set goal, guided by their experience (OR) act randomly (or some combination of the two).

All-the-variables are (EITHER) causal or non-causal.
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free will
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@Stronn
Or we truly have freewill.
Please square this circle.

How would you propose the mechanism of freewill functions?

(EITHER) actions are based on instinct, physics, training, experience, and information (OR) non-causal randomness.

No combination or clever mix of information and randomness allow for freewill.

Freewill is a qualitative experiential emotion.
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Has anything concrete ever been confirmed/denied or figured out do to any discussion of philosophy?
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@keithprosser
it may be that philosophy is more useful for discovering errors than uncovering truths.
Good point.  It's more of a critique and refinement process.
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Am I A Christianophobe?
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@Stephen
Numbers 31:17-18 - Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately. [LINK]
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Has anything concrete ever been confirmed/denied or figured out do to any discussion of philosophy?
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@janesix
Has anything concrete ever been confirmed/denied or figured out do to any discussion of philosophy?
The scientific method.

Democracy.

Equal rights.
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A classic: From creator god ==> Specific God
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@PGA2.0
Leviticus 19:34 - The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born [not deported]. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

This verse appears to be quite straight-forward and easy to understand.

None of the "context" you've presented contradicts this simple command, "The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born".

You appeal to the ancient tradition of building walls to protect cities from ARMIES.  This does not contradict Leviticus 19:34.

You appeal to "common sense" by proposing that people leave their doors unlocked.  This does not contradict Leviticus 19:34.

Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
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A classic: From creator god ==> Specific God
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@PGA2.0
Here's your quote,

The law of justice in the USA is that a foreigner must come into the country legally. 
You're clearly mixing and matching "gods law" with "man's law" when it suits your mood.

Either stick to either "gods law" or "man's law" or explain how you decide which one takes precedence.

Leviticus 19:34 - The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born [not deported]. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

This verse appears to be quite straight-forward and easy to understand.

What makes you think that "man's law" somehow supersedes Leviticus 19:34?
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Has anything concrete ever been confirmed/denied or figured out do to any discussion of philosophy?
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@secularmerlin
Would you say that "naive realism" comes with its own built in epistemology even if it is not recognized as such by the naive realist?
There is some acknowledgement of "I don't know everything" and "some people know things that I don't know" but strangely it doesn't seem to intuitively include the idea that some things may be "unknowable".

It's easy for children to think "human potential is infinite", even though this is clearly impossible.

There are limits to knowledge, but there are things we can be absolutely certain of.
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Has anything concrete ever been confirmed/denied or figured out do to any discussion of philosophy?
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@secularmerlin
Would you say that one requires an e,listing philosophy or epistemology to recognize these rare apodictic truths?
Probably.

Children intuitively subscribe to "naive realism".

Believe what you see, believe what you think, believe what you are told.

In order to understand the significance of "Cogito, ergo sum" you must first cultivate a rabid skepticism.
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Has anything concrete ever been confirmed/denied or figured out do to any discussion of philosophy?
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@secularmerlin
That would seem to logically follow that if I am experiencing something then that experience exists but that would be the exception not the rule. Still point made.
Another example would be, "there is no such thing as nothingness".

Generally these tautological or apodictic truths are rare, but they are important boundaries that demarcate our epistemological limits.
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free will
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@Fallaneze
Under determinism, all of our beliefs would be predetermined by chemical reactions and we would have zero control or influence over anything we think or do. 
The Standard Argument Against Free-Will (TSAAFW)

1) Determinism is incompatible with free-will (an inevitable outcome is not a willful choice).
2) Indeterminism is incompatible with free-will (a random or probabilistic outcome is not a willful choice).
3) No clever mix of the two solve either incompatibility.

Therefore, free-will is an incoherent concept.
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free will
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@keithprosser
I'd be surprised if anything 'anti-deterministic' was going on,
Me too.
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Has anything concrete ever been confirmed/denied or figured out do to any discussion of philosophy?
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@secularmerlin
This does not mean that there is nothing that can be known with 100% certainty.
I don't disagree with you often but I would need at least one example or this time that may be the case.
Cogito, ergo sum.
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free will
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@keithprosser
I'm not interested in word-games that focus on whether free will is free or even if it is will.   I take free will to be only a name or label for our faculty to make choices.  The advantage of that is that it avoids getting bogged down in pointless semantics and turns the study of free will into a scientific study of a brain process.  I think we can get an understanding of free will by studying organisms of increasing omplexity and learning how they choose between optional strategies.  I expect that when we have done that, there will be no deep mystery about human free will.
So do you believe when a spider decides to eat one fly first and another fly second, they are exercising "free-will"?
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Has anything concrete ever been confirmed/denied or figured out do to any discussion of philosophy?
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@Fallaneze
If we know nothing with certainty then your statement that "we know nothing with certainty" isn't a statement of knowledge.
We know most things with less than 100% certainty.

This does not mean that there is nothing that can be known with 100% certainty.
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Has anything concrete ever been confirmed/denied or figured out do to any discussion of philosophy?
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@janesix
I am just wondering. Sometimes it seems we are all just running around in circles
Religion is philosophical.

Politics is philosophical.

If you're suggesting that Political and Religious leaders are all just running around in circles, I'd find it difficult to disagree with you.

The task of "pure philosophy" is to identify logical incoherence in religion and politics.
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Why is Islam Backward?
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@keithprosser
i'd like to meet such a person because i don't understand the attraction of religion, especially in its fanatical forms.  it is self-evident that islam is open to hard-line interpretation - that is not open to dispute.   What concerns me is identifying the socio-political forces that seem to be strenthening the hand of the hard-liners and making the prospects of reform within islam retreat.
David Khari Webber Chappelle is a talented stand up comedian, screenwriter, producer and actor. He converted in 1998, after he saw his brother convert to the Nation of Islam.

Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens converted in 1977 after a long spiritual search. Just like many other reverts he struggled with a lot of uncertanties, looking for support. He thought he could find answers in Buddhism. However, he wasn’t prepared to become a monk and isolate himself from society.

“I tried Zen and Ching, numerology, tarot cards and astrology. I tried to look back into the Bible and could not find anything”, he says.
After his brother gifted him a Qur’an, Yusuf Islam had the feeling that this was the true religion. [LINK]
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Why is Islam Backward?
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@Stephen
But that is not true is it. The teaching in the Christian New Testament for instance is entirely different. Tell me;  what does the Christ of the New Testament say about stoning? 
Matthew 5:17 - "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
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"Religious Freedom" = Discrimination = Hate
In summary,

"The Bible" says nothing about gay wedding cakes.

Artists can't be compelled to create art (free speech) for anyone they find creepy.

Vaccinated kids don't need to fear anti-vaccers and anti-vaccers shouldn't be banned from public spaces.

If you want an abortion, you should join a religion that makes it mandatory in some way so you can claim "religious freedom".

School vouchers are a great idea as long as everyone gets the EXACT same dollar amount per voucher per pupil - including home schoolers.
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A classic: From creator god ==> Specific God
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@PGA2.0
I perceive you have no justifiable argument because you attack me rather than the argument. 
I perceive you have abandoned the spirit of the following scripture,

Leviticus 19:34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born [not deported]. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
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materialists and atheists
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@Mopac
You don't think that there is a difference between inspiration that comes from love of God and inspiration that comes from the love of this world?
If god made the world, then anything inspired by the world is inspired by god.
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materialists and atheists
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@Mopac
We don't capitalize God because there is "only one". They are actually different words. They have different meanings. The word "God" capitalized means "The Ultimate Reality". Uncapitalized it means something else, some of which are even gods we acknowledge to have some reality to them.
The word "god" to a deist merely notates some unknown, unknowable, origin of everything.

When the artist wrote on the back of a cereal box, was God their inspiration or did they find their muse in cornflakes? When Shakespeare wrote his plays, was God his inspiration or human experience?
(IFF) god made everything (THEN) everything is directed and inspired by god.

Certainly, you could say that God created all things, but we Orthodox don't even believe that God dictated the bible. It should be obvious that the personalities of the authors are present in the writings.
That seems strange, do you believe that god made everything except "The Bible"?

Muslims believe the Koran was dictated in this way. Maybe some protestants do too. We Orthodox would see that as a type of idolatry.
It's only logical to conclude that god also wrote the Quran and the Popol Vuh and the Bardo Thodol as well. 

That said, we do revere scripture, but we also know what it is used for. It is, after all, a product of our church tradition and a part of it. It is our book(s).
It makes sense that your private club would choose to have the flexibility of making up its own rules on the fly.
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A classic: From creator god ==> Specific God
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@PGA2.0
The law of justice in the USA is that a foreigner must come into the country legally. 
I love how you hide behind the law when it suits your mood.

What does The Jesus say about it?
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materialists and atheists
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@Mopac
Do you mean God or god?
I mean god.  Just because you think there may only be one of them doesn't mean you are expected to capitalize it.

Like universe, there's only one, but you still don't capitalize it.

They mean different things.
Not really.

What do you mean by holy book?
We have no way of determining if god is any "more" or any "less" responsible for any particular book.

I mean, if god created everything, then it seems logical to conclude that god inspired the writing on the back of your cereal box with equal effort and power as they imbued into the works of William Shakespeare.
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A classic: From creator god ==> Specific God
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@PGA2.0
Leviticus 19:34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. 
This sounds an awful lot like "amnesty for all U.S. residents"...

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materialists and atheists
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@Mopac
There are two ways to interpret deism.
The first way is that you believe God exists.
The second way is that you believe God exists, created the universe, but is not present in the universe.
Which of these forms of deism are you refering to, and if neither, how would you describe deism?
There is a god, but there is no holy book.
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A classic: From creator god ==> Specific God
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@PGA2.0
Leviticus 19:34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
This sounds an awful lot like "open borders"...

Mr. DJT, tear down this wall.
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materialists and atheists
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@Snoopy
There is a distinct difference between saying "I am without God" and "I do not know of God" and "...…."
What about Deism?
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"Religious Freedom" = Discrimination = Hate
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@Mopac
Better than the kool-aid you are drinking.
That's what I'm saying...
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materialists and atheists
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@secularmerlin
You cannot know what Someone else believes unless they share the information with you.
Darn those pesky epistemological limits.
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"Religious Freedom" = Discrimination = Hate
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@Mopac
It is too complicated for a simple answer. I suggest studying it with guidance from The Church. 
I bet they've got great kool-aid.
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"Religious Freedom" = Discrimination = Hate
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@Snoopy
The Civil Rights Act is not justified by hate.
Please explain.
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"Religious Freedom" = Discrimination = Hate
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@Snoopy
According to the Civil Rights Act, Americans are "protected" from certain types of discrimination based on characteristics.  The protected group is "American".  
Ok?
Is this difficult for you to grasp?  You literally asked for a distinction.  This is part of the distinction.
The distinction between what and what exactly?  Are you saying there's some important difference between "protected group" and "protected class"?

You can still discriminate based on OTHER qualifications (no shirt, no shoes).

If the law protects everyone from hate and exclusion (based on their raceagesexcreed), then only the hateful and prejudiced will be punished by the law.
Whether that is the case or not, your judgement of character is not the basis for civil rights law.  The Civil Rights Act is not justified by hate.
Nobody's judging anyone's character.

I'm suggesting that hate, threats of violence and exclusion should not be "protected".

I'm suggesting that hate, threats of violence and exclusion should be punished (if your business or organization is open-to-the-public).
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@Snoopy
The OP references a "religious freedom" bill that specifically formalizes marriage.  I clearly did not state that a union of any sort needs protection from the government.
So "traditional marriage" is not "under attack"? [POST#718]
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@Snoopy
So, in the OP, people who observe traditional marriage might be called a protected group.
And they should be served with respect by any business that is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

According to the Civil Rights Act, Americans are "protected" from certain types of discrimination based on characteristics.  The protected group is "American". 
Ok?

Actually, if everyone is protected who currently resides in the jurisdiction of the United States, there are no protected classes.
Everyone has a "race" everyone has an "age" everyone has a "sex" and most people have some sort of "creed".

You can still discriminate based on OTHER qualifications (no shirt, no shoes).

If the law protects everyone from hate and exclusion (based on their raceagesexcreed), then only the hateful and prejudiced will be punished by the law.

If your creed is hateful and prejudiced then I guess you're SOL and should OPEN A PRIVATE CLUB.
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@Snoopy
What exactly does someone who observes traditional marriage need protection FROM?
The government, apparantly
Traditional marriage is not "under attack".

Nobody has proposed banning traditional marriage.
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@Snoopy
Please explain what point you're driving at?
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@Snoopy
How exactly did you arrive at a complex which involves "protected classes"?  
Here you go, [LINK]

In civil rights law, thank goodness, there are "types of discrimination".
Are you hair-splitting again?  What is the relevant distinction you're trying to make?
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@Snoopy
Oh yeah, that would be awful.  Lets say everyone is a member of the protected class "sex", so discrimination could be absolutely forbidden since everyone who has a sex is completely protected from discrimination.  Such a law would be totalitarian, and essentially turn the private sector into a diverse assortment of public utilities.  I hate to think what else the people behind it have in store.
How exactly are you managing to leap to this conclusion?

You can still hire people who only have a particular level of education or certification or who can lift a certain amount of weight for example.

You just can't pre-emptively disqualify anyone on the basis of their protected class status.

Nobody is suggesting that hiring managers can't turn anyone down.

Please explain what anti-discrimination laws have to do with "totalitarianism"?
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