I don't understand how the Good would be sought for its own sake. Does this imply, as many used to believe, that goodness is a kind of transcendental,...
I've never been convinced that I can know I am conscious. Sure, I can say that I appear to experince consciousness. But to what extent is this conscio...
That doesn't sound like 'good' that sounds more like narcissism. If everything revolves around you and 'opportunities' and what 'benefits you', where ...
Everyone reacts differently to what they see. To some extent we can choose how we react to things, how we choose to frame what we see. I tend to think...
This will always be contested space and I have never been too much concerned by notions of good or bad. It's slippery and imprecise. I generally hold ...
None of the above. Who can say what happens next? I am not even sure anyone knows precisely what our current situation is. We do seem to be in the gri...
Yes, I think that's my main observation on this subject which is hardly original or revelatory. But I do think the quality of such people's lives can ...
On the matter of pleasure/flourishing, I think I agree with Joshs - Nicely expressed. I'd say someone we might regard as evil is probably as capable o...
But it's more than that. There's nothing to prevent that wealthy businessman from not having a rewarding and happy life. Access to significantly bette...
This is a fair comment. But I wouldn't argue that humans do not share some similar points of reference to animals. It's just that the meaning of what ...
Well, I'm not going to call woo on this. I'm just working through the ideas. I guess my point, at the risk of repetition, is that in a sense, the act ...
:up: I think I am in agreement with your general thesis - the world is 'created' by our cognitive apparatus, our minds. We are the ones who provide th...
Truth can be overrated. There could be numerous reasons not to share truth. Where it might cause undue suffering or panic or create other dire reactio...
An aside - Did you ever get anywhere with, Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson? I kicked around with people in Melbourne who were into Gurdjieff and Ous...
Excellent points. Indeed and I've sometimes thought that the quasi ruling class (these days the Trumps and Musks ) are so desperate to hit the 'big ti...
Cool. I don't particularly enjoy bickering with people and I really appreciate reading the different views here, especially those composed from carefu...
This sounds defensive. You borrow my phrase here but I have not said anyone is a Muslim or Christian apologist, just that a few moves made here are re...
Hmm, the borrowed quote is not quite right. Slumber is fine - do you know how difficult it is to get a good sleep? Dogmatic - no. I have no inflexible...
I don't think I know any materialists. I would avoid the word materialists and swap it with naturalists, as most would now describe themselves - mater...
My sympathy has always been with those in the cave. Why leave? You have everything you need there, including predictability. Ignorance has its charms ...
Yes, I think that's fair. I dislike The Atheist Worldview because it belongs to those ignorant talking points of Muslim and Christian apologists who h...
Just as you insist on putting atheists into fanatic scientism boxes? ( :wink: that's just a quip) Not at all. I’m an atheist more by aesthetics and em...
Well I ask mainly because I am interested in why people think certain ways. Some people are theorists and system builders by inclination and see philo...
Variations of the teleological argument are amongst the most common arguments we hear, so I don't think anyone is saying it isn't a hot topic for many...
An aside. One of the problems for me is the emotional ladenness of this kind of wording. 'Accident' is already contrived as unfortunate. 'Chance' and ...
I understand. But you appear to have a high intelligence and an innate capacity for speculative thought and high theory. I'm not sure how common this ...
Yes, thanks for reminding me. I read it in the mid 1980's and it made an impact. Sure. When I said elitist, it wasn't meant as adverse criticism, more...
This is an interesting strand. I suspect that philosophy is unattainable for most people who lead lives where the barriers to philosophy are significa...
For someone like me, philosophy can only ever be a type of curiosity about what others might be thinking - esp metaphysics and epistemology. I am unli...
This may well be accurate, but it seems to me that the word philosophy is an umbrella term for a range of activities, from the liberating and poetic, ...
I've watched this from a distance, so I don't really know what happened. A lot of comment on this election result seems to focus on questions of perce...
Ok. I'm not a physicist, but I am reminded of the famous Feynman quote, "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics." Is there...
That seems like an odd comment to make. As it happens I've spent 30 years working with people on the fringes, including Aboriginal Australians and peo...
Maybe. I'm not sure. Say some more. For me people also seem to have a fear of oblivion or a fear of the unknown. Some even fear judgement and sufferin...
I see why you might argue this but I disagree with aspects of your approach. I'm also not making that argument and I said many not 'all'. If you say y...
Yes, that seems to be the question. From an early age I always saw death as its own reward. Assuming death means non-existance. I have heard no convin...
Nice work. The history of Christianity doesn't matter to me. All I know is that there are many people who self-identify as Christians and who do not b...
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