Agree. But more importantly there are people who, for instance, think they are worthless, dim-witted and unlucky and constantly see evidence for this....
Good questions, Tiff. I think it is always best not to be hard on yourself. Terms like weakness are not useful and I think it is helpful to know your ...
This is the real challenge, Jack. To be aware of the games we play with ourselves and to become cognisant of the constructed persona we have become. I...
Ah... perhaps you need to explore this. I was quoting AB, but I think it is a useful ingredient in the soup of life. I actually think it has a Taoist ...
You misinterpret and you take everything to be about you. I was not talking about antinatalism. And I was not talking about you. I was elaborating on ...
No. I would only consider stopping anything if there were no significant and damaging consequences. To do otherwise is naive. You can always make thin...
As someone who works in the area of mental illness and addiction (and complex trauma), I would say that psychology (in the broadest sense of that word...
Sure, but I was just making the point that work exists in many domains and the people involved don't get to choose. I wasn't attempting a distinction ...
I wonder if just being a human necessitates living with unfair decisions on other's behalf. The question for me is what can be changed, why should it ...
These are pretty old arguments and I wonder what the point might be - what does it bring you if you determine that it is unfair to have to work? Which...
Sometimes we are too young to understand. I had this argument used on me by my parents a few times when young. It did not bother me. I understood that...
Human beings are differentists - they are always seething with bigotries and prejudices and fears. Are these natural or not? Reminds me of the old Bed...
I'm assuming this pure experience isn't necessarily available to the people who have it. The experience is mediated. Many people have a false sense of...
It might help if you expand on your idea and contextualize it so we can understand better what you are asking. Who is anyone? Us on the forum, or phil...
Who is deciding? Just adding to the picture not advocating any path. Permissible based on whose reckoning? Why use the word permissible? Nothing is ne...
You're right - the world of employment and work is a product of enculturation. Nevertheless, people do question this set up, especially those in their...
It's an interesting matter. I agree age does not equal wisdom. Dumb young people often grow up to be dumb old people. It's true that we should all aim...
I think self-deception is a significant issue for human beings. People hold views of themselves that are far from accurate or useful. A sense of self ...
I think you hit on the answer without realizing it. Stoics were well aware that emotions could move us and often in wrong directions. Precisely for th...
One of the favorite barnstorming freethinkers on agnosticism: The agnostic does not simply say, "l do not know." He goes another step, and he says, wi...
Because religion keeps trying to change politics, social policy, legislation and morals in its own interests and against the freedoms of others. For i...
I wonder about that. The assumption there is that it only functions around deception. My skepticism starts with me and I value truth (in as much as tr...
Amen brother. Don't you guys even have money with 'In God We Trust' emblazoned on it? WTF? I guess it might be a cute way to deal with Matthew's injun...
Hmm - I thought the key focus of skepticism was valuing truth above most things. I think sometimes people mistake skepticism for denialism and cynicis...
Not sure how they are the same concept. But I have no good reason to accept the existence of either. The time to believe is when there is evidence. No...
It's just part of life but we seem it take it badly for the most part. I had a similar experience with my mother who had bone cancer. It's a cruel way...
Not sure how much time you've spent in palliative care. In most cases people are mentally robust and are still quite strong. Their death might be week...
Pascal's Wager is pretty creaky old thing. You are either convinced of something or you are not convinced. You can't choose what you believe. The othe...
Russell addressed this 100 years ago as have a million others, along with Russell neophytes. My point is: you raised Ayer - that when dying some peopl...
Hmm - I would say that ignorance, actions and attitudes are derived from the beliefs; they are enmeshed. For instance: "Gay people are going to hell -...
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