Tom Storm

Jeez, Baker - the point I made has nothing to do about chronology. Logotherapy was developed as a tool to help people deal with adversity and was born...

Sorry can you be clearer on this? Do you mean how does someone with no belief in a divine plan or purpose have the resilience and inward psychological...

Maybe true. Although the older atheists I have known got there despite being disowned and shunned by their working class communities and families.

Of course not. But I think it would be safe to bet that of the many millions of atheists who have lived, millions of them have done just this.

Err... what order? I was simply saying that Logotherapy was developed with this in mind. I was not trying to classify it in any context other than the...

True. I would never say science is good. Just reliable. I would not say science is certain. Just reliable. But the question of goodness or virtue is t...

This is clear even in the holy books. Simple divine command theory. I find it telling that God commands his people not to wear mixed fabrics or to eat...

All I am saying is that the scientific method remains the single most reliable pathway to truth. Can you name an alternative that can provide us with ...

Just that theories like these, for the most part, are imprecise, interpreted variously and lacking in precision. CBT or DBT has application in some in...

There are numerous possible uses of the term genius and it is one of those words that is overused and often used poorly when the word 'talented' or 'm...

You will have to provide a simple example. If you're simply talking theory then this is largely inconsequential.

I don't disagree with most of what you say but I don't think it makes an impact on the efficacy of methodological realism as the only useful tool we h...

I wish that were true.

No need for a cheap snipe D. Making meaning, despite all absurdity, is Camus' solution. That's not the same thing as saying he resolved it. But he doe...

In some ways, the history of philosophy has been the quest to deny the existence of the real world independent of our minds. Sure materialism is incom...

How do you know that an alien from an alien cosmos are bound by rules of cause and effect? Any technology sufficiently advanced will look like magic t...

I like how your mind works but I guess (in case you hadn't guessed) we come to different conclusions on these issues. The devil is in the detail with ...

Sure. I never said it was the only reason. I simply said not doing so suggested a more secure faith. That has certainly been my experience of Christia...

I'd need know more about where you would take the notion of 'non-material things' because this can be a bit slippery. You hint/highlight that I keep c...

This is nice idea - overthinking or analysis/paralysis is a pet hate of mine - but how do we put it into practice exactly? How do we determine the lev...

There is no reason why a nihilist needs to be living in miserable circumstances. In fact it could be argued if a person is living comfortably, and the...

All over the world you find this. It is unfortunate, but a reflection of the difficulties of working with this cohort who are deemed almost untreatabl...

They are important because the first says it is not possible to gain reliable knowledge outside of using this method. The second, which I do not accep...

Yes, I understand this and the logical absolutes are good examples too. There are many presuppositions we all need to make that cannot be justified. R...

Yes, all the personality disorders are strongly associated with post trauma behaviour and dissociative states. More commonly borderline for females; a...

Nihilism is a word used in many ways. Bottom line any world view that supports or triggers depression - whether it be Christianity or nihilism - still...

I know but - and I am serious about this line of questioning, I am not trolling - what else is there but evidence based knowledge? Can you demonstrate...

I've generally not seen theism as providing ethics or moral thinking at all but it does have commandments or codes of conduct, which are vastly differ...

Well, you are making the argument that there is a fatal gap in science, two really: abiogenesis and consciousness - is it not the case that these noti...

Funny, but so what?

Sorry poorly expressed. I'm asking you this not saying you said this.

I'm no philosopher, Wayfarer but the fact that science can't yet explain the origin or nature of consciousness to our satisfaction does not mean it wo...

Nicely put.

Thank you that was interesting and helpful. I haven't explored this material in detail since the late 1980's

A person comfortable in their spirituality (as opposed to their religion) does not need to proselytize or harangue others to prove the strength of the...

That is what I think of it. Sorry.

Except that this is not what happened. The power was held entirely by human beings - by a very strong political force complete with an army and a figu...

Nice summary of those early years, W. I think the hallmark fo a secure faith is the lack of proselytizing.

Absolutely right - this was my point before - recondite knowledge is the poor person's pathway to an elite status. I suspect this is behind the pursui...

Quite right. I wasn't intending to suggest K was earlier than Gnostics or in fact connected. Nor are the Scientologists :smile: I was just saying that...

Certainly some Gnostic schools (and early Christianity more generally) suggests that Jesus is a mortal man with Gnosis, not the Holy Spirt galvanizing...

Judaism - his take on Kabbalah). What is appealing about mainstream Christianity is the surface appeal of the myth. Jesus is the least mystical of rel...

In the days before the internet it was so hard to get good information on this subject and Pagels was so helpful if you could get her book on order. Y...

Pagels (who doesn't sing) is a reference to one of the seminal writers on this subject - surely this name is copasetic. Her work on the Gospel of Juda...

I wouldn't assume so much. No proper names used. The tiniest of autobiographical fragments that contextualize my interest in this subject. As to 'incl...

I don't have any views on it as I don't remember the documents well enough. I read some of them in the 1980's and I knew one of Carl Jung's offsiders ...

Not attracted. Interested.

There are so many misconceptions about the Gnostic gospels whether it be that of Thomas, Mary, Judas, Phillip - whichever. Because this material is te...

I have worked in the field for many years. All I am saying is people need not distract themselves with solving puzzles or wondering about criteria or ...

Not sure what that sentence means. But in essence if a movement, in this case, religion, keeps generating institutions all over the world (and in ever...