Tom Storm

Agree. As I read it, Rorty and Derrida, and presumably other postmodernist/poststructuralists, dismantle the notion of foundationalism on the basis th...

I wonder if this is a bit of a stretch. At least with science, for the most part, we are able to identify regularities and make predictions. There's n...

Is there a difference for you between presuppositions and foundationalism?

Sorry Mark, I still haven't followed how we locate or arrive at corporation strategies that do not exploit others. Surely there are many potential coo...

I see your point.

It's true that everyone holds presuppositions that enable them to take the next steps in their thinking and beliefs. Not sure this implies foundationa...

I would agree with you.

I'm no expert on morality and take no formal position on how to determine what is right other than an unsophisticated: minimize and/or end suffering p...

It's probably just a question of scale and income and what you do to earn your money. John Lennon had mansions and Rolls Royces - did he care about ot...

It's true that traditional philosophy seems to have galvanized around 'the good' and 'the true'. I'm not so sure people generally search for truth, as...

:up: Yep. I hold to the idea that gender is flexible. The trans people I know are just trying to live their best lives. I have friends, acquaintances ...

Yes, it's an interesting question and apologies for the rambling response. I guess it depends on what we think morality is. I am not convinced that th...

Yep, this. :up:

:up:

But that’s not the argument. The argument, which I stated earlier, is that they all make contradictory claims using the same justifications and so the...

Can you point to any religion that does not have some notion of transcendence as central? No.

If a Christian says that their faith tells them that God hates fags and thinks women should stay at home and black people are inferior - do you accept...

In Australia we pronounce it both ways - 'duhnce' and 'dense' and we use these pronunciations to determine who we will hire for a job. If you pronounc...

I think the issue is is that religions hold to the idea that they are custodians of The Truth and they tell adherents, 'This is how you attain The Tru...

You argue well and write engagingly, but I am unconvinced. No need to take this much further. Thanks for your response. I don't entirely disagree, but...

It's religious scholars who often argue the subject can't be adequately defined. Take it up with them. I'm not preoccupied with definitions, I'm more ...

Interesting. What you say may be true although I can't say I personally want to be involved in community type rituals, contemplation, traditions or me...

I don't think we get to Truth and at best we create responses that allow us to intervene in the world to greater or lesser extents. Our relationship w...

Don't remember now if I have read any of his stuff (apart from the odd essay and paper) but I have seen some interviews. Good point. I am familiar wit...

Yes. And science in general. And aesthetics - he is big on Bach. And the notion of truth. The intelligibility of a natural world. He is riddled with o...

I wonder too what counts as transcendence? Is intelligibility itself transcendent? Are the logical axioms? Maths? Morality? Do we go by Kant, Aristotl...

That's nice - thanks for taking the trouble.

Or is the 'parasite' the human urge to make and hold foundational metanarratives, from religion to aesthetics, literature to science - which is where ...

Nice. There are forms of Communism - eg Stalinism - that seem to believe in transcendence - the inevitability of historical forces and the leader as a...

Brings back memories - I spent much of the 1980's with the theosophists and lived in their Melbourne (Russell Street) bookshop and library. I blame Al...

Interesting. I think I agree. Can you say some more?

People have tried to define religion - religious scholar Karen Armstrong writes about this - there's no one definition, or bespoke definition, that co...

As an atheist, I have some sympathy for this view. There is also a position called ignosticism which says that the concept of god's and goddesses are ...

Hmm, look above I also wrote this: I have no special fondness for atheists. Especially those who are libertarians or scientistic thinkers. Or worse, o...

Indeed. Karen Armstrong has written compellingly about this. Religion is one of those things that we struggle to define, but we know it when we see it...

Thanks. I was just curious. I was unable to get though it as it's quite dull. Your point in the essay: Is this what Harris is arguing? I thought he wa...

That's actually a good point I have sometimes mused over. Perhaps the symbol is eternity as devourer of itself.

Thanks Mark, that is interesting. I came on here with a similar but less scholarly goal. I was reasonably curious where morality sat in philosophy the...

I didn't say the values were naïve, I said they are motherhood statements that almost all believers, no matter how intolerant and dreadful, profess to...

I'd be interested briefly to understand why you are exploring this subject? Are you hoping to change how humans understand morality, or is this an aca...

Thanks. My intuition sides with Rouse on this matter. I have held a version of this notion since I was quite young.

This seems naive. Firstly, it goes to my point that most, if not all theists, would class themsleves as the good guys - with a series of similar mothe...

That's what they all say.

Sounds like winning is important to you. I'm too stupid to understand chess or logic. A woman tried to teach me chess, but I found it insufferably bor...

About stupidity? I think stupidity is an unwinnable war.

I just accept stupidity as one of those fecund qualities humans are naturally endowed with. What are the real world consequences you see - climate cha...

Well, many atheists don't conclude there is no god. I don't. I simply say I am not convinced. I think we've had this discussion. I've also noticed tha...

Ok. But what counts as stupid? If we are able to identify stupidity then are we saying we are not stupid - we are above it in some way, no?

The stupidity of religious people and atheists? Or are only atheists stupid?

Just that you're like the mirror image of the angry atheist, making the same sorts of claims about stupidity.