ToothyMaw

I think I see what you are getting at, and I definitely like it. But how does one's decision determine anything? If god commands something is right, i...

But we would need to know the commands are definitely infallible, and I see no way of confirming that. So DCT still sucks.

If god determines with his power that an act is good one ought to do it then - which is different from having a disembodied command to do something. I...

One ought to do what is good, right?

What a pity? What is a pity? That I'm trying to be honest here?

Look, it is undeniable: if god is omnipotent then anything can be moral. Unless there is a law that god cannot change that says that it is wrong to ea...

And I actually think that the people pretending to be Bartricks come up with some pretty brilliant arguments.

It might be disgusting and horrible and no one would actually do it, but you have to admit that if god is omnipotent he can make anything moral, no ma...

What I meant is that if god deems such an act to be moral it is moral. My bad. Btw, I think Bartricks is taking the more repugnant horn of the dilemma...

I disagree: if god commands us to eat and torture babies it could be moral, although it is so intuitively heinous that hardly anyone would do it. My p...

Thought about it some more: the whole omnibenevolence thing seems weaker with a god that can arbitrarily change what is good whenever he wants. Techni...

God can be omnibenevolent even if he determines arbitrarily what is good by adhering to the laws he creates, or by stipulating that he has his own set...

How on earth can one have reason to believe that they have received revelation other than some sort of subjective experience? Furthermore, how would r...

I don't know. An evil god might allow innocents to suffer in ignorance, as the premise goes. Whether or not it qualifies as punishment requires motive...

And even if you have that specific piece of revelation, what makes it okay for god to mete out the punishments and not humans (or a chimp for that mat...

Furthermore, I don't see why guilt would necessarily require punishment in the mind of an omniscient, omnibenevolent, omnipotent being. You must have ...

Great OP. What about revelation? According to the holy texts supplied by the Christian god, for example, one could indeed be demonstrated to be totall...

I think they do value life insofar as they value people living on their own terms, something I got at earlier. People cannot always live on these term...

Of course. edit: that was not sarcastic

All the more reason to believe that it isn't wrong to not take a great risk in bringing someone into the world. Or, if we do, to be careful about it.

Just because those two things exist simultaneously and without conflict much of the time doesn't mean that they do not conflict sometimes and that the...

I agree that it is absurd to say that life is fair or unfair as if there is some part of oneself or one's experiences that is distinct from one's own ...

We are not responsible for the sky being blue. It is just the way it is. But we are responsible for procreating - and we could stop or at least wonder...

Savage.

I am not an anti-natalist, but if I were, then I would uphold all of the implications of my beliefs. No to mention the harmful consequences of giving ...

I don't assume this of everyone, and I myself do not possess this intuition that everyone, including myself, ought to want to live - regardless of how...

You genuinely seem to be ignorant of all of the good anti-natalist arguments. For instance, no great harm is at stake if one does not procreate; no on...

That isn't an argument for anything. You are just explaining people's lack of thought given to whether or not they should procreate/save lives. But th...

I sincerely doubt anyone starts with the premise that "everything is wrong". And you cited it as a premise leading to the anti-natalist conclusion, no...

Just because there are multiple ways to reach a conclusion, and one of the ways is ridiculous, that doesn't reflect upon reasonable ways of reaching t...

If you were making a direct argument in favor of natalism you would need to defend this instinct, but you are skirting the issue here, instead making ...

Yes, that sounds about right.

That makes sense. Yes, acting in instinct is pretty much always an action devoid of a rationale. But is the default - natalism - right? Even if it is ...

Is this a reference to this?

You actually do cite a reason for giving life in absence of of a good reason not to: that the person you are giving life to would have acted the same ...

So reasons for giving life only need be considered once there is a reason not to give life? That sounds specious; should we not always act for reasons...

Either I hit a nerve or you aren't trying very hard. My point, once again, is that in the context of whether or not someone should be given life, the ...

Here I thought I said something worth saying!

An example to demonstrate why I believe your argument isn't what you think it is: maybe you want to bring into the world the next greatest violin virt...

My point was that there is no reason for should that is comparable to reasons for should not and that should not is the main consideration - perhaps t...

I'm saying that life is only potentially given value after it is given, thus reasons we should not bring life into the world are more pertinent than r...

I think it reduces suffering. How does it save life?

Did I say we should throw more people of color in prison? Or did I say we should address violence in the black community in the most effective way pos...

I think that this happens more often than you might think. Not to mention one can only appreciate their life after having been given life; that someon...

Is 2,574 greater than 241?

My point, obviously, is that successful people of color are doing it almost entirely on their own without being given any of the advantages a young wh...

Did I say there was no systemic racism, or did I say that we are less racist than ever? You are being obtuse.

When did I say that there shouldn't be a greater social buy-in? I have said very little about actual strategies for solving black-on-black crime; I wo...

Never said they were. But we have to recognize that merit matters a lot, even if it is not the sole-determinant of success. I'm starting to question y...

This is a philosophy forum, and I'm not a columnist; obviously no one is probably reading this stuff. Does that mean I can't talk about it on said for...