Tom Storm

That is not their experience. Calling them 'compliant' would be wrong and patronizing. You seem to be a pessimist, so maybe we should end here.

I've got a cup of tea and some shortbread...

baker I don't disagree that this often happens, but is not necessarily the problem of a diagnosis or psychiatry as such, it can be a problem of cultur...

I'd be interested in such a critique.

I see, so you are scared at the prospect of that many solipsists. I hear you. You know, I hate to break it too you, but there are probably twice that ...

Why scary?

Cool. It was just the ought/is morality connection. Nothing deep...

Beautiful bit of writing, W, and I'm not sure how Sam Harris/Counterpunch will respond. But I am curious that you made a point of highlighting possess...

I'm inclined to do the such-and-such shoe shuffle to Dinah Washington singing Mad about the Boy...

As I wrote to you an another thread. There are many forms of atheism, the best in my view argue that there is no reason to accept the proposition that...

Words do not have meaning, they have usage. Dictionaries are pretty limited. Most atheists I know would say they have not heard a good reason to accep...

I notice you use the words 'you may' to indicate that this is not certain. I agree with you this is far from certain. When people say things like 'thi...

I make no claims about absolute truth. But, for the most part, I privilege reason. The response to the conundrum is simply what some Christian theolog...

I think it will help to read more philosophy on these issues as there is a huge amount of sophisticated literature addressing these issues. The parado...

People change views when they think they have compelling new information, not because they 'choose' to swap views. Belief is not like a TV remote cont...

[ The idea that atheists are afraid is a threadbare and spurious argument. But if you don't believe in the existence of something, how can you be scar...

I'd say that's a reactionary statement. I don't think we need Marxism to help explain this...

It's a pretty old argument and I don't think it is any more true than another old argument - that theists believe in God because they are afraid of de...

I've heard no reason to consider reincarnation true, nor do I much care, but what difference do you suppose it is meant to make to a life lived? Why s...

:cheer:

I was thinking along these lines earlier - it's an argument of infinite regress. If he were alive, George Carlin could perhaps do something with this.

:up:

Agree, I think that's the essence of the old fellow's message. Of course we seem to judge all things by our limited capacity for imagination and under...

I'm so used to 'satire' being limp and real life being satirical that I can't tell any more.

There'a fine line between provocation and satire.

That may well be true. I have no doubt that there are and were people who explore Marxist ideology with the fanatical determination of a scholastic th...

That is interesting. I think when theory and history get combined in this way discussions become labyrinthine and speculative and too much of a pissin...

know Sorry Anna, I don't think I agree with your thesis. Sure, everything may well be made up (although who knows, variations of Platonic forms may be...

For sure. I am in the 'no' camp as I have yet to hear a reason in defence of a guiding force that works for me. But more properly I don't and can't kn...

You're right logically speaking, but there's a third option: we don't know. Can we ever hope to know? Now that's a question.

Yeah, I can see it now. When he said it it was just one of those lines, you know?

I wondered if you were going to say something like that. Fair enough. But I think perhaps philosophy goes wrong when it gets too ambitious. It's compl...

All well established arguments and I don't disagree too much. A lot depends on what questions you are wanting answers to. I am not especially interest...

A wise old man told me once that aging and maturity involved understanding that there is great beauty in ugliness. He went on to explain that what is ...

Amongst people who identify as Left, I would maintain (but only based on my experience) that there are few who would know Karl Marx from Groucho Marx....

I don't think it seeks out something supernatural but it does often settle on this. What exactly a supernatural concept is is unclear but I guess you ...

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That has been a common criticism of 'contemporary' art for decades and it is easy to see why. A Rodin taken out of a gallery and placed in a city car ...

I've never taken this idea seriously before. I guess it depends on whether you think there are any responsibilities around aesthetics. I don't accept ...

I hear you but right there is the crux to all our problems.

I ask a wreath which will not crush my head. And there is no hurry about it; I shall have, doubtless, a boom after my funeral, Seeing that long standi...

Agree. And if we think democracy is a hard thing to get right - how about philosopher-kings? How on earth would the quality of this be determined and ...

And it couldn't have hurt that Socrates was over 70. All 'death prep' aside, I wonder how he would have taken the news at 35...

I agree. The interesting thing about a novelist as a philosopher is that you need to do some extra work to discern the thought and positions. The pote...

There are not many who would claim that an animal has the same status as a human, partly on a basis of human exceptionalism, but also from the belief ...

Back to your question. I think Dostoyevsky is safely categorized as a Christian writer from the Orthodox theological tradition. As far as I know he do...

I think this argument is largely accurate and quite familiar. I would simply make the point that history is cruelty, bloodshed and exploitation. It's ...

A common response. Well a couple of things. I also wrote 'I don't say Christianity is all bad'. I offer the negatives as a sober reminder that Christi...

Well aware of that. Christianity has never stopped human catastrophes that I am aware of and has sometimes lubricated them. I don't say that Christian...

Not my prejudice - the people I am referring to. I am sympathetic to existentialism.