RegularGuy

To me, belief is a decision to affirm or deny. One can also not hold a belief if they withhold judgment or if one hasn’t been exposed to the subject. ...

Well, without reading the progression of this thread, I will give my opinion. Beauty is driven by feeling, but the concept of beauty must be rationall...

What is a better explanation for global warming than the one I’ve given? I might want to debate this. Also, what is a better explanation for the varie...

Spiritual experiences are self-justifying as spiritual experiences if one defines spirituality a certain way, viz. the feelings of awe and wonder and ...

Also, the topic was spiritual knowledge, not religious fundamentalism. Were you deliberately trying to confuse me with this category error, or was it ...

So far, no good arguments have been given for Statism over Anarcho-Libertarianism regarding market failure. It’s just a matter of the proven, tried an...

I don’t have a good argument as to how there is a theoretic difference between scientific knowledge and spiritual or religious knowledge. One might sa...

You give a very nuanced analysis. It SEEMS like it could be a good model of reality, so I don’t know how I would disagree. Anyway, there is too much t...

Sorry for my stream of consciousness, here and elsewhere. I like to debate myself.

People just look like hairless apes.

BUT... when it comes to man-made global warming or the theory of evolution, saying “I believe they are true” gives license to the ignorant and the dis...

Ah. Well, I still think you’re gracious for not being vengeful. You are true to your philosophy, something very few of us can say.

But, @"Virgo Avalytikh" is saying that the State is redundant. Rights can be enforced through private means if necessary.

Which is why belief in any scientific model should explicitly say, “I believe X is true.” It’s not the same as “I believe my keys are on the table” wh...

I tend to think that if half of the planet weren’t complete animals like myself, and more of us were like Virgo, then this whole libertarian thing wou...

Plus, I’m not really sure what this means. I assume it’s forgiveness? That seems like something a gracious person would do, and that’s how I now think...

I think I actually agree with this point.

No need. I know when I’m wrong. :kiss:

Yes. You’re absolutely right to call me out. I respect your dignity.

She makes a valid point. And I respect her for not taking my bait.

Because she drank the Kool-Aid of the billionaire class that funded her educational curriculum. Perhaps daddy is rich, too? States seem particularly c...

Doesn’t it at all concern you that Brexit is what Putin wants? Hmm. I suppose Putin and the common people of the UK could have interests in common by ...

To me, “we suffer because it is natural,” is a brute fact, not a suggestion that you can’t do anything about it. Isn’t that a point of meditation? To ...

Not really. We’re all mostly polite here. The lunatic fringe here is just passive-aggressive. Confederate flags and bumper stickers mostly. I hope you...

But I don’t think Evangelical Fundamentalism works very well if one wants to be an astrophysicist.

Well, living my life by my and my wife’s senses work better than following the Bible in the practical world. It works, and I would really doubt that a...

If you’re asking me if I have faith in my senses, then you may have a point. That’s why I check in with my wife. She’s my eyes and ears on a lot of th...

What do you mean?

:smile:

No worries

I’m a foundationalist. I didn’t make that clear. Justified beliefs have as their foundation sense data. Critical thinking skills, such as “don’t belie...

What @"Virgo Avalytikh" doesn’t seem to get, and this is probably because she has no concept of the riff raff, living the privileged life of an Oxford...

I was trying to be funny. Guess that wasn’t clear.

I live in a small town of 16,000. I know any community is diverse in its views. It’s less heterogeneous than NYC, though, and there are ignorant, hot-...

Well, one would have to have familiarity with miracles that others could corroborate empirically? Quoting the Bible to an atheist would be like quotin...

I will Google her. Thank you

I don’t believe I’m wrong, but the metaphysics of BCE India was different than now. I’m trying to help Wallows. Anyway, the Buddha would have reached ...

Yes. Try reading the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) himself. Nothing in his teachings merits taking reincarnation literally. Also, SG wa...

I’m not taking a side here, but I think she meant to say “persons or property.”

I don’t understand Terrapin, either.

“After the ecstasy, the laundry.” Yes, well, life must go on. Personally, I find the act of empathizing and walking in others’ shoes to be spiritual, ...

Or one could just take acid as a shortcut to get a glimpse of the subject-object dissolution. The effects are temporary, though. It would be much cool...

Coherent beliefs must be consistent, but consistent beliefs need not be coherent.

In other words coherency has to do with justification. Consistency does not.

I’ll give you an example. I believe the radio is playing. It is justified by my sense data (I hear it), and by my observation that others are singing ...

Beliefs can be justified by other beliefs and by sense data (coherency). A set of coherent beliefs are also consistent (they don’t contradict one anot...

How religion can in theory be compatible (consistent) with science. Consistency has to do with whether beliefs contradict one another. Coherency has t...

That was my point with S about how consistency has nothing to do with coherency. He just ignored that point.

Yes, they are correlated, but you didn’t hear my agreement. Mum’s the word.

Thank you for the analysis.