Hippyhead

You appear to be assuming, like almost all commentators on the subject, that a God can only exist or not, one or the other. Such an assumption is seri...

I'm just joining them in leaving nothing above inspection and challenge.

This is the classic error which gets blindly repeated over and over and over again, even by some of the most prominent thinkers. This error is the fou...

There's truth in it, up to a point. But college sophomore types sometimes try to exaggerate it in to a kind of universally binding principle applicabl...

Genetics.

Fair enough, I stand corrected. But aren't you assuming, without questioning or any evidence, that logic is qualified to address topics the scale of g...

I'm incurably philosophical, as is my family tree, a fact established before I was born and beyond my control to change.

Perhaps this will help. There are clearly many things where human logic has proven it's qualifications, too many to begin to list. However, it doesn't...

Some things are clearly determined and beyond our choice. But not EVERYTHING.

FYI, I have no bias against religion in general. Really, I don't. You'll see this as we proceed. No, I'm not, because I've already done that. :-) Actu...

Ok then, so if you truly have no control over anything, then there is exactly no point to any philosophy. Sorry to be harsh with you, I really don't m...

Did you choose to write that post?

I've been doing that all through the thread. It's true there are some things we have no choice about, and equally true there are some things we DO hav...

Yes, determinism 101, a huge pile of bunk.

Well, that's a bit of an overstatement. :-) But I would agree there is a lot we didn't do well.

Here's a funny story about Yeltsin. He stayed at the White House for a few days during his first meeting with Clinton. In the middle of the night Yelt...

Such a policy doesn't sound helpful for sure. I would cast my vote for "Most Dangerous" the widely held assumption that we are safe because no current...

Hi there Philosophim, thanks for engaging. Say I make claims X,Y and Z by referencing the Bible as the relevant authority. In that case it would be my...

Thanks for the applause @Asif. Now I'll never be able to stop typing, and I can blame it all on you. :-) Ok, time for me to back out of challenge mode...

If one is physically hungry, it's more rational to go to the kitchen and make some food than it is to bemoan the chronic need to eat which nobody chos...

Before diving in to the details of your argument, I would ask this. Can you prove that the rules of human reason are binding upon all of reality? So f...

I agree. Again, so what? This is very well known information. Nobody chose to be born, we all know that already. Ok, sure. Again, so what? As a person...

Well ok, that's true. So what? We also have no choice about needing food, needing water, needing sleep etc. We have no choice about the life long requ...

Apologies, I don't understand anything you're saying here. If you wish to clarify, still listening.

Yes, anyone that we've saved from ruthless tyranny typically thanks us by calling us ugly. :-) I think we're pretty good sports about that, all in all...

Yea, good point, I am concerned about that. We've been financially irresponsible for a long time, and it's reasonable to predict that's going to be a ...

Ok, no problem, proceed to oppose. I'm not walking away, just allowing folks to have their views, don't want to beat it to death etc.

I'm hungry right now, and have the choice to go eat. Later I'll be tired, and will have the choice to take a nap. If I start suffering in my mind, I h...

Honestly, and no offense intended, I find this kind of dodging and weaving tiresome. 50 billion threads on the Internet, including countless threads o...

Already explained why. You're on your own with that one.

And it still would be. 50 nukes dropped on the big cities of any country would collapse the food distribution system and so on. If you haven't seen th...

Suffering is not the diminishment you refer to, but one's relationship with that diminishment. Suffering is not losing the leg. Suffering is the state...

You have the right to believe that if that's what works for you. I'm not an evangelist. I'm not going to try to shove an alternative down your throat....

Ok then, so go with that. Your choice. I respect your right to your choice.

There is no permanent solution to physical hunger. Every one ever born has to eat regularly. This need is inevitable, non-negotiable. We also have to ...

A person who feels this way might ask themselves, how much effort have they invested in seeing if that's true? If none, then that explains that. Suffe...

You're perhaps not following the logic because you are still stuck in the God debate. If we accept the reality of our ignorance then just as the claim...

You haven't succeeded in that project, though I do look forward to hearing your thoughts on other topics.

The social, political, and military chaos of the 60s dwarfs anything happening today. We got past that. We'll get past this too. The American era will...

We could translate this idea in to atheist language if that helps. Atheists believe in facing reality. The reality is that, on issues the vast scale o...

Well, if we actually want to suffer, then I suppose it isn't. Let's take a poll. Everybody who wants to suffer, please raise your hand! Sorry to be sa...

750,000 - Total number of deaths from the Civil War 504 - Deaths per day during the Civil War 2.5 - Approximate percentage of the American population ...

But if Stalin had been a Catholic leading an explicitly Catholic regime, then you'd blame the slaughter on Catholicism. This is a very tired dodge, yo...

Sadly, this is largely irrelevant as they still possess enough weapons to completely destroy modern civilization. A single nuclear submarine can destr...

And my argument is, whether this is true or not, it's not rational to keep saying it over and over because that doesn't accomplish anything. What's ra...

Yup, and it all may be irrelevant given that American and Russian nukes can destroy the entire planet in about 30 minutes, and it could happen at any ...

Yes, agreed. Psychopathic despots are a curse upon humanity. We can debate the best way to rid ourselves of them, not all options are equal for sure, ...

Hi again Augustusea, I'm enjoying our exchanges. Again, I'm not denying the existence of suffering, which in some cases can be quite profound. I'm jus...

Agreed, but not what I was referring to. I'll try to be more clear.... 1) If one is a believer, and then realizes one has no basis upon which to belie...

That was almost 20 years ago. Even when Saddam was alive and in power Western nations were losing interest in containing Saddam, and starting to do de...