ZhouBoTong

I feel like these quotes can only be true...and they certainly add an interesting perspective to the discussion. But I am still struggling to accept t...

Can most humans? I hear the phrase "truth is stranger than fiction" quite a lot. For me, anyone who says or agrees with such a phrase has little to no...

Well I may have missed your first mention (more likely I was just overly focused on some other point), but I definitely like where you are going here....

Good enough for me :smile:

I have never thought of these things as extra dimensions, but it does not seem unreasonable. Aside from having to do a bit of research on dimensions, ...

Yes. Exactly my thoughts, but clear, hehe. Thanks.

Sounds like it is a possibility? I get they don't typically think about it, but once asked directly, they would have to acknowledge the possibility th...

So does the word agnostic tell us anything about the person other than they believe (hehe) that atheists and theists are wrong? I don't get why "I don...

Yeah, I was joking a little there. When I say "better" I mean that some think they are "above the fray". Some also think they are "better" in that the...

Do you believe in god(s)? Are you sure? The first question tells us if you are theist or atheist (or a third type of person with strange grammar under...

. I entirely agree. But remember for the pro free-will crowd, especially if they happen to be religious too, THE PURPOSE of punishment is PUNISHMENT. ...

I like the actual evidence for internal reality you mention: things like heart rate, etc. But I also "know" my thoughts exist in the same way I "know"...

Well I have only been reading your stuff for a year or two, but you are remarkably consistent. And 40 years experience makes your patience for nitpick...

I think this is a big part of the problem. With each passing day, painless solutions are less likely. And it seems difficult to ethically justify the ...

hahaha, seems plausible

Damn. I got to learn to own it like that :smile: Here I am reading my own posts out of neurotic insecurity. Your version sounds so much better. This r...

Dang...I thought the entire gnostic religion was playing off sarcasm...kind of like certain versions of satanism. And it made perfect sense as sarcasm...

:up: Thanks for helping me think this through. Thanks to @"god must be atheist", @"PoeticUniverse", and @"Terrapin Station" as well (although I think ...

That seems fine to me. But I would struggle to add: "so there is no choice/decision/other possibility". I think I am viewing these things as existing ...

Have you 'observed' everything? "There is only one reality" is not an observation the same way "the sun will rise in the east" is an observation. Is '...

That seems possible. It likely stems from some misunderstanding on my part. When I am confused, I argue until the point is clarified :grimace: Prime e...

Would there be any way to prove or test this idea? (saying "there is only one reality" is a type of reasoning but a long way from actual evidence) Is ...

That is certainly the struggle I am having. I find myself agreeing quite often (with both sides), but still being thoroughly unconvinced. Years ago I ...

I still doubt whether that makes will free, but I am happy to be given a definition - so I won't bug you along those lines again.

So because I can't know all the possibilities, they can't exist? I don't get it. I think it mostly extrapolates from an understanding of the common us...

The fifth dimension? Wouldn't we just call it abstract thought? Isn't science a LONG way from being able to explain everything about "the existence of...

But your 'choice' is severely limited, right? "Free" means unrestrained.

As far as I can tell, @"Pattern-chaser"is describing an "is", while @"Terrapin Station", @"ArguingWAristotleTiff", and @"DingoJones" are talking about...

Does this mean you have 'free will' or just 'will'? That is one way of looking at it. But why couldn't the universe just have infinite possibilities i...

I think maybe you missed something here Sushi? You referred to 'petty squabbles of skin tones'. T Clark's response was along the lines of, 'you mean p...

Well, I assume you think it is ok that murders and thieves are 'under another's sword'? If there is government, we are all under someone's sword (and ...

Just because you are not reading War & Peace doesn't mean you are not a reader. Your posts here suggest that, at least most of the time (hehe), you re...

I can, but I don't know why I would. You seem pretty bright. Most libertarians are smart people, they just seem trapped in partially justified dogma. ...

This seems problematic. Wouldn't ANY law designed to end discrimination, discriminate in some way? Reminds me of the libertarian argument for an unreg...

These statements?: Only one pair seems tied to race. huh? what 'original pride statements' are being referred to? That seems true. Ok, ok. So you are ...

Well all of this sounds great (the opinion parts) and accurate (diagnosis on the rise, etc). I guess my initial disagreement was just being nitpicky (...

Gotcha. Let's see if I can try another approach: Do you think the NAP is a perfect principle with no flaws, inconsistencies, ambiguity, or potential l...

Well, surely, they are 'thanked' a good deal more than those who are managed? First off, is there evidence that people are mentally unhealthy at highe...

what would that look like? (everyone thinks all races are equal? everyone acknowledges 'race' is not a thing? the dominant cultural group being looked...

Wait, so in 2012, just as the Obama administration is pulling the country out of one of our biggest recessions ever...Sowell is going to point to incr...

For thousands of years revenge was compensation. The concept has rightly been mostly rejected in modern society, but there are all sorts of things tha...

how do our examples we have discussed NOT show that this semantic problem does indeed have philosophical implications? (I think trespassing is wholly ...

Fair enough. But libertarians use the term with people who are not libertarian and expect them to arrive at the same meaning. And I am pointing out re...

I agreed with this until I met enough humans. Do you really think most people have the clarity of thought (or ever actually pause to intentionally 'th...

First Virgo, thanks for arguing with me. I appreciate that you do not get ruffled and frustrated in these discussions...but I still don't agree :smile...

Haha. Because 'trespassing' is not per se aggressive? (I am just standing there). I get that that libertarians would respond: one of my best friends i...

Why are we only worried about 'science'? Doesn't every other field (that is non-artistic) fairly flippantly dismiss philosophy as well? And the more l...

I disagree. Your family/country/ancestors potentially make you culpable. I will try a libertarian perspective: If my grandpa steals all your land then...

Dang. And I thought that 'pumped up kicks' was the only mass shooting song that I enjoyed. Also - Bob Geldof from The Wall? He was in Boomtown Rats? (...

Well actually, of course they would. The overall definition of 'aggression' does not change just because libertarians have claimed one specific meanin...