I think there are many ways to answer this question, but one answer that I was reading and thinking about some weeks ago is that we are the sum of our past history, i.e., we are now the sum of all the moments that we lived since our birth, and this is what make us unique since each one has his or her own past. So, in this theory, even if you change your ideas, body, mind, you still are yourself because of your whole past.

Sure. This is also a well known story here where I live. This is a good example to be used as well. It does not focus on powers explicity but it is openly pragmatical.



Something like this, really. The difference is that today we know that the ancient Gods, oracles and shamans did not have really powers to do supernatural acts. Their powers was more coming from psychological influences in the believers. Science-based powers are considered to be really more physical and practical. But of course, as you said, actually there are pros and cons in both sides.



This is more a grammatical matter. The word "power" come from Latin language "potere". The Greek word used by Aristotle was "dunamis", but both words can be translated today to "power" (and that is a more practical word currently):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunamis_(disambiguation)

"Dunamis (Ancient Greek: δύναμις) is a Greek philosophical concept meaning "power", "potential" or "ability", and is central to the Aristotelian idea of potentiality and actuality".

So a scientific power of a technology or a magical power of a superhero are powers in their own way, an ability or capacity that a thing has to do or to influence something, the difference in this case is if such power is present in our "actual world" or just in a "possible world" (as a ficction story).

And about if humans with specific skills that are evidence-based would have the capacity to resolve most of our problem, yes, it is a possibility, but it is not a complex way to privilege a scientific approach.

Especially because power can be also used as a wider metaphysical reference for those who also believe in the possibility of supernatural, abstract, idealist, alternative or unidentified realities, not only scientific, that is based only in materialist/physicalist metaphysics of our physical world.

And secondly, I use this idea to deal with people who believe mostly in God than in Science. So in this practical situation, convince a people who believe in God simply to stop to believe in God and start to believe only in Science is not so easy. It would be a huge change of worldview. So focusing on Power is a "middle way", since it is a element that Science and God (theorically) have in common, powers to solve our problems. It makes easier to turn a religious person who dont know too much about science into a more "pragmatical" person.

But these are only my incomplete theories, based on what what read about such topic and my own limited experiences. So I will keep my search for those videos to remember more points to better answer such questions.

Eh. Actually I already have seen some videos from that Atheist Experience channel. And of course, I already used many points elaborated by atheists to confront christian points. But the problems are, firstly, I am not exactly an atheist anymore, then I have to use such arguments in a limited way.

And secondly is that many real atheists already failed to convince religious persons that maybe their God will not solve our problems. If you already tried to do it, you know the point. I think that it is because Atheism have some limitations to be used in practical life and to give emotional relief to persons when they are in need, since Atheism is just an idea that Gods dont exist, and just this.

And I should make you know that I live in Brazil, where atheists are not so common, at least not openly. According to the last national census, there are already many non-religious here, but most of them are not exactly atheists, just like me. And many people here dont agree with atheism, and when in need they look for some evangelical church too, for instance. And since I am a health worker, I must do my job based on science but I can not confront their faith in a way that could affect such persons negatively. So I prefer to use simple philosophic arguments that can be a middle way between science and faith.

And we have more success to "convert" christians and other religious persons if we also use an emotionally affirmative and practical philosophy, something like ancient Greek and Romans philosophers used to do in the past, like Stoicism, Epicureanism or Pyrrhonism, where Gods could exist, but they were not the main point of such philosophies. And this is where we can see the importance of Powers as a better central metaphysical point, since Powers are also "abstract forces" that can be present everywhere, in Gods, demons, humans, animals, nature, technologies, tools and even in abstract objects.

And of course, powers are also practical elements that can be used in our daily life, since we can only do something or solve our problems if we find enough power to solve them. Because they are elements that can transform "potentiality into actuality", as Aristotle elaborated in his Metaphyics book. So it can really make a more practical philosophy, as the Ancient Greek-Roman philosophies, and that can be used in our daily situations, as I use in my job.

Of course we realize that there are many points that could be improved, for instance in Epistemology and Ethics, and even the need for congregation that many people look for, to understand more about the ideas and to feel as a part of a comunity, but it can just be solved futurely. The main point now is that I wish to find those videos about Aristotle and Possibilism again to elaborate better my points, since there are already some christians now that really wish more debates against me. :^D

The point is that if we have powers enough, we at least have the option to understand and solve our problems, even if we dont want to solve them.

And God, society, governments, medicines, really have such powers? Or we just think that they have? Or maybe they have just some potentials, but they have not all "ingredients" to really put their powers to "work" completely.

A blacksmith has the power to transform a metal into a sword, for instance. He really has knowledge and skills to do it. But if one day all the metal in the world disappear completely, we can say that the same blacksmith still will have his powers to transform a metal into a sword, but such powers will be only a potential that can't become an actuality anymore, since there is no metal anymore.

And of course, we can not forget that there are "evil powers" too. Many of our problems can not be solved just because there are powers that are in the opposite pole. Scientists can create a medicine that has the power to cure a virus, but if such virus has enough power to create new mutations, to adapt and to evolve into new variants, then we can see a real polarised "conflict of potentials". Maybe we can use our current COVID situation as an example, but we can see it everywhere actually in natural world, since evolution of all species and natural phenomenas are a kind of conflict of powers.