Are you religious and if so what religion?

[Lewellyn]

Same with atheism, it's essentially the opposite of the definition for religion

 

"the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods."

 

Yeah, they're both "non-religion" not a subset or different religion.

[Fred Castellum]

This thread has been fun to read this far. Thanks guys!

Religion has play a large part on how civilization was molded and what people have set as their moral norms. Naturally you get the good and the bad, I find it fun to analyze the effects of religion and philosophy.

[SMURG]

If you see a built PC you don't think such a complicated system was created by accident, do you? Surely someone had to come up with all the technology, first for each individual part, then make sure they all interact with each other, then there's code/software that tells that whole system what to do. 

Now imagine how much are we, humans, more complicated than a computer? Surely someone had to come up with...   you get the idea. Seems logical to me.

There are a few very fundamental problems with this analogy.

Firstly, the PC cannot create a new PC or improve upon itself and so yes, if you came across one in isolation you would assume, correctly, that it was created by something else. By contrast, a human being can both improve upon itself and produce other humans and so the analogy breaks down.

This is crucial because in order for evolution to occur there must be improvements which can be passed on to offspring - with a PC there is no example of a smaller, less complicated version which could have possibly given rise to the PC in its entirety because computers cannot create newer, better computers (if they could we'd be into a whole other philosophical can of worms about sentient AI, which I'll leave for another time).

By contrast, we can easily see how a human being may have arisen from millions of years of evolution - a ribozyme can make more complex copies of itself until it begins to assemble a membrane. A ribozyme with a membrane has the makings of a cell. Once you have 1 cell, you can produce another one. Once you have many cells they can cooperate to form a more complex organism. Once you have multicellular life, some cells can differentiate to do different things within the same organism. Once you have complex life with multiple cell types, ever greater levels of complexity are unlocked until you end up with something as amazing as us. No God required.

I mean it's not to say he didn't engineer all of this in the beginning, in terms of creating matter and the universe for it to exist in, but to suggest that God is somehow required to produce life from that matter is to show an extraordinary level of ignorance frankly.

[martlart]

There are a few very fundamental problems with this analogy.

Firstly, the PC cannot create a new PC or improve upon itself and so yes, if you came across one in isolation you would assume, correctly, that it was created by something else. By contrast, a human being can both improve upon itself and produce other humans and so the analogy breaks down.

This is crucial because in order for evolution to occur there must be improvements which can be passed on to offspring - with a PC there is no example of a smaller, less complicated version which could have possibly given rise to the PC in its entirety because computers cannot create newer, better computers (if they could we'd be into a whole other philosophical can of worms about sentient AI, which I'll leave for another time).

By contrast, we can easily see how a human being may have arisen from millions of years of evolution - a ribozyme can make more complex copies of itself until it begins to assemble a membrane. A ribozyme with a membrane has the makings of a cell. Once you have 1 cell, you can produce another one. Once you have many cells they can cooperate to form a more complex organism. Once you have multicellular life, some cells can differentiate to do different things within the same organism. Once you have complex life with multiple cell types, ever greater levels of complexity are unlocked until you end up with something as amazing as us. No God required.

I mean it's not to say he didn't engineer all of this in the beginning, in terms of creating matter and the universe for it to exist in, but to suggest that God is somehow required to produce life from that matter is to show an extraordinary level of ignorance frankly.

To add to this, the size of the universe gave the original components of life incredibly many chances to come into existence. It's extremely unlikely that those components wouldn't have formed somewhere in the universe.

[Digital Brit]

I'm a nihilist but since that's not an option I'll just choose atheist.

[Lewellyn]

-snip-

 

 

[SMURG]

To add to this, the size of the universe gave the original components of life incredibly many chances to come into exitence. It's extremely unlikely that those components wouldn't have formed somewhere in the universe.

Yeah, this explains how you go from 0 to something like a ribozyme. In fact multiple potential mechanisms have been proposed, demonstrating that in conditions similar to the early Earth there are actually many ways that life may have (and possibly did) originate. All of them are more compelling to me than intelligent design, but more to the point they eliminate the need for a God in explaining the origin of life.

[Admire]

I'm a nihilist but since that's not an option I'll just choose atheist.

 

Scary:P

[Lewellyn]

I'm a nihilist but since that's not an option I'll just choose atheist.

 

If I say that morality is inherently subjective or that there is no direct meaning of life, am I a nihilist?

[Volbet]

I'm a nihilist but since that's not an option I'll just choose atheist.

I know we have had this discussion before, but I have simply forgotten (sorry): In which areas do you describe yourself as a nihilist?

[Digital Brit]

If I say that morality is inherently subjective or that there is no direct meaning of life, am I a nihilist?

Those beliefs reflect existential and moral nihilism.

[Digital Brit]

I know we have had this discussion before, but I have simply forgotten: In which areas do you describe yourself as a nihilist?

Existential.

I remember that exchange, it was enjoyable.

[Volbet]

Existential.

I remember that exchange, it was enjoyable.

That's right, now I remember. That was a very good time.

[Lewellyn]

Those beliefs reflect existential and moral nihilism.

 

So I'm both? How will I break the news to my mother?!

[Volbet]

So I'm both? How will I break the news to my mother?!

You: Mom. Dad. I'm a nihilist

Mom and dad: Hell no, God said Adam and Eve, not Adam and Nietzsche

[Digital Brit]

You: Mom. Dad. I'm a nihilist

Mom and dad: Hell no, God said Adam and Eve, not Adam and Nietzsche

Nietzsche's science was far too gay.

 

[Admire]

Nietzsche's science was far too gay.

 

gay science.gif

 

What kind of Nihilist cares about homosexuality?

[Volbet]

Nietzsche's science was far too gay.

 

gay science.gif

Ohh God (who by the way is late for His funeral), I didn't even think about that.

 

How can his science not be gay?

That mustache is fabulous.

 

I guess we are beginning to derail this topic, and I can't say if it's for the better.. 

[Digital Brit]

What kind of Nihilist cares about homosexuality?

The kind who is terrible at making jokes

[Real_PhillBert]

I'm an atheistically leaning agnostic. I haven't yet seen sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a god, but I am open to the idea.

[Admire]

Ohh God (who by the way is late for His funeral), I didn't even think about that.

 

How can his science not be gay?

 

That mustache is fabulous.

 

I guess we are beginning to derail this topic, and I can't say if it's for the better.. 

 

This has never been a place where these kinda discussions go well, so I think its an improvement.

[Volbet]

This has never been a place where these kinda discussions go well, so I think its an improvement.

Then I say we should all dedicate this thread to appriciating Arthur Schopenhauer's hairdo

 

Or we should use to discuss philosophy insted of religion.

[PotatOS - Andrew]

Agnost- I meant Linus-ism.

 

No, but seriously, #Agnostic4Lyfe

[Admire]

Then I say we should all dedicate this thread to appriciating Arthur Schopenhauer's hairdo

 

 

Or we should use to discuss philosophy insted of religion.

 

 

 

 

/Thread

[LOLPhilips]

Celtic polytheism

 

Light that wicker man on fire for fuck sake