Devans99

We should continue to try to get to the bottom of things... if that's possible. What unjustified assertions? I countered every counter argument on tha...

The justification is here: https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/5302/an-argument-for-eternalism/p1 The BB has a cause. But the BB itself generate...

My argument that there is a start of time is independent of BB physics. It does not even assume that the BB is the start of time: https://thephilosoph...

We don't know precisely what if anything happened pre-BB. But I believe we can conclude there was a start of time and a first cause. So lack of specif...

The early stages of the BB are somewhat shrouded in mystery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang#Singularity The matter either preexisted the Big B...

A virtual particle can indeed pop up out of thin air and disappear. But that process must not lead to a permanent increase in matter density else we g...

Zealotry on both sides is negative, I say both sides because people like Dawkins can get very zealous too. I think both sides should be able to agree ...

It is not our experience that matter disappears. I have not heard of this from QM. I would have thought that the conservation of energy means matter w...

It been clean fun so far. Thank you also for your contributions!

The past real only versions of eternalism obviously supports free will. The future real versions of eternalism exclude free will. So morality becomes ...

We can however deduce that something permanent cannot naturally come from nothing if time was infinite (because matter density would become infinite).

Presentism is the belief that only 'now' exists. It does not work with a start of time (if only 'now' exists and then that does not exist, then there ...

To be fair we were discussing whether causeless effects could happen without something from nothing happening.

Deism is more science friendly than a theism. It's a believe that there was a first cause who created the universe, but is not actively involved in th...

But what effect could be free of matter/energy? For an effect to happen, matter/energy must cause the effect. For the effect to count as uncaused, tha...

I believe supernatural involvement in the universe was limited to its creation only (I'm a deist). Eternalism holds that past, present and future are ...

I would have thought that a 'causeless effect' would require some energy/matter to achieve it so that energy/matter would have to come from nowhere to...

Still we must keep on trying. Some progress has been made. On simple questions like 'was there a first cause?' I feel answers are possible. 'Great min...

Thanks I may take a look at it. Presumably requires FTL (for tachyons) so that does count against it, tachyons have imaginary mass! To create oneself ...

The example often given is the Mexican hat potential: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_symmetry_breaking#Mexican_hat_potential So you have a ...

You may be right, but I think that constructing a model for a universe without a first cause is impossible - nothing would logically exist without a f...

OK thanks. Just pointing out that these something from nothing models all imply a start of time. Back to the OP, the question is not appropriate witho...

If it's something from nothing, it leads to infinite density with infinite time.

Causeless effects would be something like quantum fluctuations - something coming from nothing. If something comes from nothing naturally then with in...

Too much of anything can have bad effects. But in this case we are talking about fatigue. So its more like hard work is good and fatigue is bad. Stop ...

I think doing hard work / accomplishing difficult things are painful in the short term but rewarding in the long term. Long term > short term so these...

Fair point, I was only using the theory as an analogy - it does not apply directly to the universe. The universe's long term behaviour must be charact...

All effects must have causes - the first cause is at a base of a pyramid of causality - all effects do have causes. Only the first cause, being beyond...

God made a single large 'explosion' - the Big Bang - he did not individually go and make each star and planet. Number of stars in observable universe:...

- The Big Bang theory has time running slower and slower as we get closer to the Big Bang (due to intense gravity) till the point of the singularity w...

Its just basic math: number of stars in universe / number of years universe is old = number of stars God must search a year 2*10^23 / 1.4*10^10 = 1.4*...

The being just initiated the Big Bang rather than hand creating the universe. The universe has only been around for 14 billion years - you cannot sear...

I'm on your side in this debate but you can't argue that something exists just because the concept exists. Pink elephants exist as a concept in my min...

I'm saying I cannot think how. For starters, how would God ever find us amongst the 2*10^23 stars in the observable universe? If you can think how, pl...

God has no way of communicating his existence to us - the universe is billions of light years in size - how could we expect God to possibly communicat...

But the rate at which entropy changes from low to high varies from place to place yet the speed of time stays constant?

But it can be argued it is weighted towards 'no' because the 3Os seem unlikely (so inductive evidence against the proposition is built into the propos...

There is no prove of that yet (that was a joke proof I gave you on the other thread).

I guess it would come down to how long hell was, versus his life expectancy and how painful hell is versus the genie enhanced life style. I hell was n...

On Thursday the prisoner can only deduce 'if I make it to Friday, I will not be executed'. He has not made it to Friday yet...

The system does not work on many levels: The effective utility of a 10 million and 1 billion bucks is similar, yet people still earn these huge salari...

It seems either: 1) Time causes entropy 2) Entropy causes time I am of the first persuasion. Time appears to pass the same in low and high entropy env...

'Greed' is probably more appropriate to the private sector individuals earning disgustingly high amounts. We all work for personal 'gain' in this syst...

I think you have to be very specific - any deduction requires you to specify when the deduction takes place, because what is known about the situation...

In both the examples you give, the person changes (business man<->mobster) but the respective systems (Capitalism, Organised Crime) do not change. I a...

Not a rational transaction though obviously. Long term in hell > Short term in the genie's care. A quick poll in my immediate environment indicates th...

This is making my head spin. Probably good exercise for the mind then. Surprise may mean: 1. Unable to deduce the time of hanging 2. Was able to deduc...

I think they are both greedy but the system/culture is different. Our governments maintains the system. We all operate under the same system. Capitali...

Both the mob and capitalists are greedy, but they are operating under different systems: - Mobsters kill people and distribute dangerous drugs that ha...

Matter can't be eternal. Time cannot be everlasting. There are lots of ways to prove this. One is in the OP. Here is another: https://thephilosophyfor...