Tom Storm

You are committing the no true Scotsman fallacy. Atheism is without theism. It pertains to one claim only (theism) and is not a system. It says nothin...

:grin:

The 'what is it like to be' schtick leaves me a little cold. I'm not sure what it is like to be me, let alone Nagel's winged mammal.

Thanks. Very thoughtful. I'll mull over this. I'm fairly sure Wayfarer will say this misses his nuances.

In my view you make a common mistake by trying to include a whole world view under the rubric of atheism. It only pertains to theism, nothing more. Ov...

I don't think that's entirely accurate but it is true for some atheists. There are, of course, many different kinds of atheist, with different approac...

:up:

Won't open for me. Looking for it.

That's essentially a well worded and educated version of my assumptions. What do you understand by this:

It seems to me that so many of these discussions keep coming down to this point and few people seem to fully engage with it or remember this is your k...

I'm not sure what Wayfarer has in mind but the subject reminds me of Gore Vidal's famous quote to his acquaintances - "When I die, I'm taking all of y...

:up:

I certainly wouldn't have thought so. I am not even sure what counts as 'the world'.

Is it not possible that this is wrong and some version of realism might be the case instead? Fascinating but very nebulous and how would you ever esta...

Nicely put.

Interesting - can you provide an example of a materialist wanting to be special?

I hear you. Although I have to say qualia is not an idea that resonates with me - it seems to be such a nebulous concept. That's a nice quip. Some of ...

Very interesting and I note that Dr Susan Haack asserts a cogent defence of 'innocent realism' her nod to naive realism, so disparaged by some QM spec...

Is idealism primarily speculation based on the 'observer problem' - can anyone say it's a certain conclusion?

Not remotely. But I'm not a philosopher. I'm just curious. My sympathies are with physicalism and empiricism and I find it interesting how confident p...

Taste is a funny thing. I notice also that I have a strong preference for black artists doing jazz and blues but almost never white ones. Didn't plan ...

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How does one discern 'good' idealism from 'bad' and how does this play out in a quotidian life?

You made some hints but I was hoping for a more qualitative elaboration. Are idealists necessarily more susceptible to a bunch of unverifiable tosh? H...

What difference does/can it make to a person's life to hold an idealist position?

Interesting. Is this worth developing? Transmigration of souls? Platonic realm of forms?

It's a sincere question. When a claim is made, like most, I prefer to understand what the evidence for that claim might be. I have no theory of physic...

It makes a big difference to me but I guess if you have determined that physicalism is always a variety of Richard Dawkins I can understand the antipa...

I think many physicalists are slightly more nuanced than this and would say we currently don't have reliable evidence not to accept physicalism as the...

I know hardly any music from the period of my youth 1970's and 1980's - I find it ugly. I too stick with 18th to early 20th century music for the most...

Further digression. You may well be correct but my understanding of the Old Testament is the other gods referred to as false gods (Baal, Moloch, etc) ...

Not an unpopular view - perhaps because novels are easier to read? There are of course different types of novels. I would ask how do you demonstrate t...

Indeed so. Faith is more of an excuse you give for believing when you have no good reasons. And the problem is faith has no quality control. You might...

You're welcome to think that. I disagree totally. What we often do here is explore propositions and how likely they are. Sometimes the best way to dem...

Quantum mechanics has no bearing on my life either but it sure matters. Lot's of things don't matter to a person's quotidian life. Doesn't make those ...

Philosophy generally struggles to identify what truth is. Hence the various theories of truth. I have argued many times that philosophy doesn't matter...

:roll: I was making the point that what the OP said can go in many directions. The very opposite of a self-esteem problem is just as likely. I gave tw...

Or was this a reference to Foucault most famous work The Order of Things? Plenty of material you can find on goggle. I would have thought history and ...

That's an elegant way to put this, B.

I am not committed that that view I simply put it as an alternative to what the OP provided us. It seems to me that he OP's thesis could go in several...

Not sure you have made a strong case. I think you could equally argue philosophical doubt (as distinct from self doubt) emerges from the human arrogan...

Nicely put. Curiously I rarely met any literalist Bible believers in the 1970's; we were always taught that the Bible was an allegory and according to...

Yep - the problem with religious ethics is they have no foundation. It is entirely down to people using personal preferences to determine what the cor...

Nice. Susan Haack (interview) on science: There is no “Scientific Method,” I argue: i.e., no mode of inference or procedure of inquiry used by all and...

I was not referring to philosophical communities. Those philosophers were talking about people generally. Prehistory? I guess we'll never know given t...

There's no reason to think that depression is new. Symptoms are definitely mentioned by Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle (as melancholia). The word depre...

I believe Craig would argue that people know what is right and good because it is built into their being by God. Hence the good things done by people ...

WTF? This is a philosophy forum. I never once in this thread mentioned apologists. If you cherry pick who you will accept as authoritative you are com...

I think we may be stuck, I am not addressing rationality. The word 'rational' is as loaded as atheism. Be careful not to worship it. Remember many phi...

Read any critique about atheism and you will see what I mean. Things being rational or not are not always the main game.