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anonymous66

['Member']Joined: June 28, 2016 at 18:23Last active: May 06, 2023 at 12:0536 discussions590 comments

Favourite Philosopher

John Searle, Gabriel Marcel, Hilary Putnam

Favourite Quotations

"I don't know Greek or Latin" John Searle.

Discussions (36)

Narratives?

October 11, 2016 at 12:55 65 comments General Philosophy

Universals

July 28, 2016 at 20:23 167 comments General Philosophy

Comments

I've been around the block a few times, and my beliefs have changed significantly over the years. Calvinist->Ecumenical->Agnostic->Atheist ->??? I'm n...
January 11, 2018 at 20:45
I was focusing on this. As I mentioned in a previous post, it seems to me that counter-examples are in order.
January 11, 2018 at 18:27
This search has some good info. and this one: Calvinism Critiqued by a Former Calvinist
January 11, 2018 at 17:42
In my experience, fear is a big factor. If you know what God wants, is it a good idea to change your mind? To doubt? Satan is about doubt. God is abou...
January 11, 2018 at 17:24
The Calvinists I knew just acted like and convinced themselves that they knew God's will: How to interpret the Bible, what one must do to be saved, ho...
January 11, 2018 at 17:12
I can relate as I grew up among Calvinists and even identified as a Calvinist for many years. What helped me was when people just kindly and gently po...
January 11, 2018 at 17:01
Are you familiar with the studies done by James Whinnery? He reported cases of people having NDE's when they were subjected to high G forces. http://w...
January 09, 2018 at 19:25
The greatest gold mountain is the greatest gold mountain we can think of. Things can exist only in our imaginations or they can also exist in reality....
January 09, 2018 at 14:58
It's the greatest gold mountain I can imagine.
January 09, 2018 at 14:54
Cool! There is now a huge mountain of gold in my backyard. I imagined it, so it must be there.
January 09, 2018 at 14:49
Elizabeth Loftus is working on it:
January 09, 2018 at 13:00
I've learned quite a bit from Skeptic magazine online. They often present arguments for and against various topics including pornography and the exist...
January 04, 2018 at 02:35
Why pick on Agnostics and their view of God? What of skeptics and their view of knowledge?
January 02, 2018 at 16:10
He's on my short list, I promise! Right now I'm working on a project involving Gabriel Marcel. (I'm listening to this today)
January 02, 2018 at 14:17
Gabriel Marcel by Seymour Cain The Existential Drama of Gabriel Marcel edited by Francis Lescoe Awakenings by Gabriel Marcel
January 02, 2018 at 07:33
Gabriel Marcel was a Christian existentialist thinker who taught that the nature of prayer was such that one could not pray for material things, but o...
January 02, 2018 at 06:50
I wonder if panpsychism suggests that "consciousness is a product of the brain"?
January 02, 2018 at 06:39
Cain defends Marcel's early writing style by explaining that he can be compared to a scientist recording raw empirical data, only Marcel was a phenome...
January 01, 2018 at 14:24
You might enjoy this article comparing Marcel's and Sartre's ideas. Atheistic and Christian Existentialism: A Comparison of Sartre and Marcel. I was f...
January 01, 2018 at 14:02
His autobiography is easy to read, and I really like his plays (my favorite so far is A Man of God). I've been easing into his essays and philosophica...
December 31, 2017 at 13:04
I just thought I'd mention that I've found the book Gabriel Marcel by Seymour Cain to be a better place to start, if one was interested in learning th...
December 31, 2017 at 00:24
The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps
December 28, 2017 at 12:34
Thanks for that! I've gone back and forth on just what I think about religions. Right now I think it's important to acknowledge the good in religions....
December 26, 2017 at 17:29
I was about to disagree with the OP. But, upon reflection, I would agree that self-consciousness is a negative quality... but self-awareness is not. f...
December 26, 2017 at 16:41
I grew up with fundamentalist Christians. I was a Young Earth Creationist. I just picked up on and/or reacted to some of the fear (of believing the wr...
December 25, 2017 at 23:48
I've read every one of Marcel's plays that I could get my hands on(he himself wanted to be known for his plays- he thought the arts was the way to inf...
December 24, 2017 at 13:30
Marcel has me thinking that the nature of human existence could be described as a metaphysical mystery.
December 24, 2017 at 13:20
LOL. That hasn't been my experience. The metaphysics of "what is there?" is important and interesting... but, exploring human existence is more import...
December 24, 2017 at 12:47
I've found Marcel to be a humble and decent man who encourages others to be patient with themselves while also encouraging them to continually work on...
December 24, 2017 at 12:44
I love Gabriel Marcel, and questions about existence are of extreme important.. but I do also wonder: what exists that is not accessible by my percept...
December 24, 2017 at 12:13
I think what you may be describing is an issue with Scientism. Science is useful. Some people have made it into a cult-like religion.
December 23, 2017 at 13:22
Thanks for sharing. I'm thinking along similar lines.
December 22, 2017 at 22:41
Fair enough.
December 22, 2017 at 21:47
Annie Dillard reminds us that the practice of attributing miracles to religious teachers also occurred in Judaism.
December 22, 2017 at 21:42
I was born in Germany, I grew up in Alaska, and now I'm in the Midwest. I hated the first philosophy class I took back in the late 80's (I was in my 2...
December 22, 2017 at 19:54
The Virtues.
December 22, 2017 at 13:52
I grew up as a Young Earth Creationist. I was a literalist and a true believer. Our church proclaimed that they had the correct interpretation of scri...
December 22, 2017 at 13:28
I can relate. I was really enjoying philosophy until recently when I heard some lectures on the topic of truth. Now whenever I think about the various...
December 22, 2017 at 12:08
I think you're on the right track. I wonder if we can paraphrase Socrates as saying, "I don't go around pretending to know things that I don't know."
December 21, 2017 at 16:41
I really like a book called Gabriel Marcel by Seymour Cain. It's a good overview of his life and work, and if you like what you see, it will give you ...
December 20, 2017 at 19:49
That sounds very similar to what I see in Gabriel Marcel's writings.
December 20, 2017 at 18:35
Putting aside his sexual orientation, no matter what it might have been. I wouldn't want to live Wittgenstein's life. I don't see much that is worthy ...
December 20, 2017 at 12:03
Are you referring to this? He also had 3 brothers who committed suicide.
December 19, 2017 at 20:31
Our conversation brings up 2 issues. 1. What evidence is there that Wittgenstein was gay? 2. If he was gay (I'm not sure he was) then what evidence is...
December 19, 2017 at 20:12
I still don't know why it is that you believe this to be true.
December 19, 2017 at 19:56
What is your source of information for Wittgenstein's sexual orientation? I've seen some speculation, but is there anything more concrete? From Philos...
December 19, 2017 at 19:49
I don't know that his sexual preferences caused any problems. I'm not even sure if we can say we know he was gay.
December 19, 2017 at 19:39
I'm no expert on the mind by any means, and I enjoyed reading David Chalmers' The Conscious Mind and John Searle (I don't remember which book I have.....
December 19, 2017 at 19:25
I know some who are trained in the classics believe that he did intend to have them published.
December 19, 2017 at 14:17
As others have pointed out, he had some serious flaws.
December 19, 2017 at 14:14