Tom Storm

Banno I'd be interested in sharpening my understanding of knowledge verse belief here. I've always argued that atheism goes to one's belief and agnost...

As memory serves, Obama said if there was just one thing he would take from Australia it would be compulsory voting.

Disgraceful. Do you think Australians are especially apathetic when it comes to politics?

I believe that's correct.

That's so crazy it might just work!

I agree. Scotty will probably get in again. Electoral apathy, the Murdoch press and Labor's lack of skill will do the job. Unless there is something n...

No kidding.

Generally it's called an illness if it is causing significant distress or functional impairment or the person is a danger to self or others. Being 'ma...

Questions are fine. It's the answers that are often the problem. Hence God of the Gaps. I'm pretty happy with 'I don't know' for most of those current...

Are you a deist or a theist?

Problem with that is the pudding is used to prove either argument.

I agree.

You said it, Greg.

Oops. Rookie mistake. Second time this month.

I find it interesting how some threads start with 'what do you think?' then in response proceed to be quite dogmatic, as if the mind is already closed...

Mental illnesses can manifest quite differently in each person. It may not be that some can manage it better - it is also about what level of intensit...

Just take care not to confuse outward success with what it is like to be someone. Many a successful person with a mental health issue was terrifically...

That's much better - I was too hasty.

:up:

I agree. Not sure why you raised the Wisconsin Christian thing with me - I was simply saying that there are also 'Wisconsin atheists'.

Not sure what your 'preference' reference is to (l'm assuming whether you prefer God or not god?) Pascal's wager is problematic as how do you know whi...

If you are a believer you are obviously going to prefer agnosticism because there appears to be room for the apologist's familiar arguments.

:up:

Deus, I suspect that epistemology lies at the heart of your concerns here. Forget God, we don't really know anything with certainty. Knowledge is huma...

Atheism is about belief agnosticism is about knowledge - they are two different things. Atheism only addresses belief in a deity - Zeus or Allah say. ...

As Banno says, it makes no practical difference. There's another thread on this already somewhere. Many atheists take the position that there are no c...

I guess you need to ask if an anti-social personality also presents as a high risk individual for taking chances and making mistakes (extreme decision...

I identified three areas. It is not necessary to be a theorist to make practical changes and I have seen many improvements here over the decades. But ...

:gasp:

The matter of what success really is lies at the heart of this. You really need to ask an expert to get a proper answer, but one factor will be that i...

Why what? Who says they are happy?

I am not a theorist or have a vision. I hold a mix of conservative and reform based views which involve dealing with poverty, drug law reform and hous...

I agree. But various approaches predominate at different times. Some worse than others.

I think this is very old news. It has long been held that a person high in narcissism and devoid of conscience and concern for others will do better i...

Yes, it's not straight forward. You can end up with the no true Scotsman, no true Scotsman fallacy...

I still believe these must be tackled, perhaps in bold new ways. It's not likely to be readily achievable for a range of reasons. The corporate sector...

I hear you and I sympathize. Thanks to the internet (presumably) there has been a growth of literalist fundies down under. Our far North is the equiva...

That's my view too.

Dawkins is the height of sophistication next to some I've met. And I say this as an atheist.

No question. For me the act of curating something and hanging it up in a space for art makes it art. The question of merit is separate. This was the v...

Nice - you beat me to it.

I'm not philosophically sophisticated but I am always interested in the reasons people have for holding certain beliefs. I have taken an interest rece...

I would have thought in numbers too numerous to count. Many uneducated working people who have been victims of structural changes to the economy and m...

Apologies for speaking on TC's behalf, but I don't think this is the point he made. The point is that in talking to people who would oppose a progress...

I'm very sympathetic to this take - it's certainly how some progress has been made before, but the state we seem to be in suggests things are not work...

I agree. I've known a few writers and artists. It looks to me, watching them, that sometimes there's an idea inside them that needs to be exorcized an...

I agree. The same thing is true for photography. If you want some excellent photos, you have to take a massive amount of shots. That's true. But also ...

As you know there's an energetic welfare system subsidising privilege that is just seen as common sense and fairness by the toffs...

When I was a boy, here in Australia, if you wanted to be an actor or a radio personality, you generally had to speak with something approximating a re...

Absolutely critical. And you can even see that where folks come from areas of comparative homogeneity, whether accidental or intentional, into this ga...