Jake

Well, that's one of the popular theories of course. My own speculative theory is that ideas like "God" and "mankind" assume a division which is only c...

Yes, that's it. Wise insightful comment, as usual from you. With all its SO MANY flaws, this is the genius of religion, the realization that the natur...

This thread may help: https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/3728/the-knowledge-explosion

My mistake is in the persistent assumption that discussing such issues will accomplish anything at all. Seriously, not being sarcastic. THAT is my log...

Let's start with something simpler first. Let's change our brains so that we aren't incurably bored by the discussion of the most pressing threat to e...

Hey, whaddya know, you're finally right about something! Congratulations!

It leads to a mastery of nature, but not a mastery of the human condition. Thus for example, we are brilliant enough to be able to create nuclear weap...

Good post, thanks. To me, it's a fairy tale that any of us know what is or isn't a fairy tale, in regards to issues the scale of the God theory. The G...

Agreed, good point. It's in that context that I sometimes label myself as being "Catholic". I'm not Catholic in the way people typically use that word...

Best answer by far! :-)

Let's reason together. Let's apply the principle you've articulated in an even handed manner to all beliefs. Some people believe their holy book is a ...

Wrong in relation to what? As example, nuclear weapons work perfectly well at the task for which they were designed. Working well doesn't automaticall...

As a baby boomer, I would suggest that our primary crime was that we knew better about many things, such as the environment, war, the bomb, consumeris...

Imho, the real threat is how we will react to climate driven changes to the status quo, and less so the change itself. The actual changes to the clima...

It might possibly have been, except that you seemed determined to run off anybody who might have actually understood the threat posed by climate chang...

Such rejection is largely illusion. As example, Catholicism dominated every aspect of Western culture to a degree unimaginable today for 1,000 unbroke...

I hear what you're saying and agree. I'll just add my usual rant that science, and our relationship with science, are two very different things. The l...

Thanks Rank, I'm just back on the forum myself. That's a great quote, thanks for sharing it. A couple thoughts in reply... First, and this takes us ba...

Or, just another option, maybe you could refrain from clogging the forum with your cleverness? You know, there's an appropriate place for what you wan...

Meaning is just a story in the human mind. When the mind goes, presumably all meaning does as well, or at least that is one popular theory. Assuming f...

My best guess is that a long view is required. It would take something the scale of an asteroid strike to wipe us out completely, so it seems humans w...

This seems to depend on what time frame is being examined. If the chosen time frame is the lifetime of a baby born today, yes, some amount of climate ...

True, but none of them can bring civilization crashing down in 30 minutes. When one has a loaded gun in one's mouth that is the only issue. Once the g...

I downloaded the paper and searched for "nuclear". I found one very brief and passing mention. Until shown otherwise, I'm happy to accept that the aut...

China is held together by the tight grip of a dictatorship. It's already a touch and go operation which could unravel at any time. Add a big pile of s...

The very good reason for the inclusion of nuclear weapons in a discussion about climate change is that these weapons will be the reason that climate c...

I'm open to such a theory, but suspect the universe as a whole would be doing something far more advanced than mere human thinking. We could use the w...

The urbanization of humanity is one threat factor which probably doesn't receive enough attention. Until the 20th century the vast majority of humanit...

Widespread social collapse could realistically begin in the next 30 minutes. Imagine that I am a brilliant but disturbed philosopher who walks around ...

Would it be more accurate to say for some Catholics? My guess is that millions of Catholics would welcome some version of fundamental change, while mi...

Or perhaps to be more precise, what does "supernatural" really mean? Does it mean beyond the laws of nature? Or does it mean beyond the laws of nature...

Understood, no problem. I understand this theory, and agree you've represented the doctrine accurately (not that I'm expert on such things). I'm not d...

Hi Rank, I'm not disagreeing, just trying to clarify that there may be a conflict between the reality of the situation and our desire to discuss. Disc...

While I'm ranting... Spring is underway here in Florida, with fresh new baby green leaves exploding in every direction. The big meeting in Rome has be...

Yes, and it seems the serious question is the practical one, how to best train oneself. Regrettably, there is no one perfect answer to this. For me, i...

Thanks for adding Catholic doctrine to such threads Rank. Although I'm not qualified to evaluate your interpretations of Catholic teaching, I sense yo...

No Nazis to argue about this week in the Bannings thread. Dang, I feel cheated! :-) Sig Bile!

We are made of thought, so we do cease to exist when we stop thinking. I suggest you read my post above to see I already said what you are saying here...

Not sure how the following comments relate to Buddhism, which I claim only very limited knowledge of. That disclaimed... We might focus on the phrase ...

Bingo! Thanks for getting it and expressing it so concisely.

Why are you an atheist?

If we want to have lots more people in America then creating obstacles to immigration doesn't make sense, right? If we want less people in America, or...

Ok, so you don't understand that every other species ever discovered has been largely blind to what's going on over it's head, outside of it's niche?

Ok, is 400 million our target? Would more be better? If so, how many more? Or, is 400 million too many? If so, why? Should we try to be as big as Chin...

I'm not interested in the liberal vs. conservative shouting match, unless it's going to be based on competing plans for how we reach some specific goa...

Ah, so your lack of belief in a God just magically sprang in to existence out of nothing. It's a miracle!! :smile:

Ok, thanks for that analysis. The question I've raised remains unaddressed, not just here, but also in the larger cultural conversation. What do we wa...

What is this lack of belief based on? What is it's source? How does the atheist arrive at this lack of belief? It didn't just magically pop in to exis...

Ok, this is one answer to the question. And like all other answers that have been offered, it's little more than wild speculation. Anyone claiming to ...

Ah ok then, so 84 billion people, or any other number, would be perfectly fine for America. I'm not arguing for any specific number, I'm arguing that ...