I think we know trillions of things with certainty. For example, I know that the English word "sky" is spelt "sky".

Thank you for your reply. I agree.

That's fascinating. Thank you.

Thank you for your advice. You didn't answer my questions about your worldview. Why is that?

I know trillions of things. So do others. Just because you claim that one cannot know anything it does not make it true.

My worldview is evidence-based. If I become aware of incontrovertible evidence for the existence of souls and gods, I will stop being an agnostic atheist and become religious. I have researched the top twelve religions on Earth and none of them are evidence-based. This is why I am an agnostic atheist. I am open to new evidence e.g. if you show me incontrovertible evidence for the existence of fairies, I will stop being an agnostic afairyist. Do you understand my position better now? What is your worldview? What is the basis for your worldview?

It's not just Hinduism that could be true. All religions and the worldviews they offer could be true. I am an agnostic atheist because the evidence does not support any religion. Most religions believe in immortal souls that either reincarnate or resurrect despite the lack of evidence for the existence of the soul. It is impossible to prove the nonexistence of anything such as souls and gods and imaginary creatures such as fairies. Just because it is impossible to prove a negative, it does not make them true.

Your worldview is esoteric and your evidence is not evidence but faith.

I disagree. Pantheism has no evidence to support it.

I agree.

Thank you.

I agree.

I agree.

I disagree.

You are most welcome about the book recommendation. According to Islam, leaving Islam is punishable by the death penalty. Most Muslims think this is morally right. Ex-Muslims and non-Muslims think this is morally wrong. Which group is correct? How can we know for sure?

I agree.

The problem with having a conscience is not that it exists but that different people have different values. For example, fasting during Ramadan is considered mandatory by Muslims but non-Muslims think fasting during Ramadan is not necessary.

I recommend that you read the following books:

"Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst" and "Determined: Life Without Free Will" by Robert M Sapolsky

"Free Will" by Sam Harris

I agree that having a conscience is important. The problem is our conscience depends on variables we don't choose i.e. genes, environments, nutrients, and experiences.

I already addressed my problems i.e. what is the ultimate nature of selves? What is the ultimate nature of the universe? Do gods exist? We don't know and probably can't know, so I will not waste any more time on them. I am an agnostic atheist pragmatist vegan egalitarian and every day I save and improve lives.

The plague example is irrelevant. I never said that compassion and caring make all living things immortal. However, it is because of our compassion and caring that we treat people and other living things who are ill or injured.

Living things make choices due to the interactions of genes, environments, nutrients, and experiences. Our choices are determined and constrainted by variables we did not choose. The people who behave irresponsibly most likely had terrible Adverse Childhood Experiences. What is needed is treatment for their mental illnesses and addictions. If they had received compassion and caring since conception and did not have the Adverse Childhood Experiences they would not behave irresponsibly. I have worked with many criminals and it is the lack of compassion they received that made them into criminals. So, the problem is not too much compassion. The problem is that we failed to prevent all Adverse Childhood Experiences. If you don't know what Adverse Childhood Experiences are, then please see https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html

I am quoting the following from https://acestoohigh.com/got-your-ace-score You should look at the webpage in full.

There are 10 types of childhood trauma measured in the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. (There are many others…see below.) Five are personal — physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. Five are related to other family members: a parent who’s an alcoholic, a mother who’s a victim of domestic violence, a family member in jail, a family member diagnosed with a mental illness, and experiencing divorce of parents. Each type of trauma counts as one. So a person who’s been physically abused, with one alcoholic parent, and a mother who was beaten up has an ACE score of three.

There are, of course, many other types of childhood trauma — racism, bullying, watching a sibling being abused, losing a caregiver (grandmother, mother, grandfather, etc.), homelessness, surviving and recovering from a severe accident, witnessing a father being abused by a mother, witnessing a grandmother abusing a father, involvement with the foster care system, involvement with the juvenile justice system, etc. The ACE Study included only those 10 childhood traumas because those were mentioned as most common by a group of about 300 Kaiser members; those traumas were also well studied individually in the research literature.

The most important thing to remember is that the ACE score is meant as a guideline: If you experienced other types of toxic stress over months or years, then those would likely increase your risk of health consequences, depending on the positive childhood experiences you had (see below).

Prior to your 18th birthday:

Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often… Swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you? or Act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?
No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often… Push, grab, slap, or throw something at you? or Ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured?
No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever… Touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way? or Attempt or actually have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you?
No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Did you often or very often feel that … No one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? or Your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other?
No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Did you often or very often feel that … You didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you? or Your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?
No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Were your parents ever separated or divorced?
No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Was your mother or stepmother:
Often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her? or Sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard? or Ever repeatedly hit over at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife?
No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, or who used street drugs?
No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide? No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Did a household member go to prison?
No___If Yes, enter 1 __
Now add up your “Yes” answers: _ This is your ACE Score — Aces Too High

I recommend that you read the following books:

"Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst" and "Determined: Life Without Free Will" by Robert M Sapolsky

"Free Will" by Sam Harris

You should also watch this TED Talk: How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime by Nadine Burke Harris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk

I agree.

I didn't claim that compassion and caring make all living things immortal. Living things die for many reasons. Selfishness and ruthlessness have resulted in the deaths and misery of so many living things. If every human became a vegan egalitarian, the world would be a much happier place for humans and all the sentient beings we hold captive, exploit and slaughter.

I am not pretending that compassion and caring solve problems. They actually prevent many problems and solve many problems. I take it you have never needed a mother and a father and doctors and nurses and midwives to come into existence and stay alive. I wonder which species you belong to. Perhaps you are visiting from another planet and trying to understand sentient life on Earth. I will be happy to give you extensive education on the importance of empathy, compassion and caring for living things on Earth.

I agree with you.

What project? Selfishness and ruthlessness have resulted in the deaths and misery of so many living things. If every human became a vegan egalitarian, the world would be a much happier place for humans and all the sentient beings we hold captive, exploit and slaughter.

I agree.

What do you mean by that?

On the contrary, it is the lack of compassion and caring that creates the problems in life. If everyone cared about everyone then the world would be a much happier place. Murder, torture, rape, robbery, theft, fraud, slavery, exploitation, etc. would vanish. The world has enough to meet everyone's needs. It does not have enough to meet anyone's greed. If only everyone would commit to saving and improving all lives. I am not paralysed. I have saved and improved some lives already and plan to save and improve even more lives.

Thank you for your reply. I don't need to find comfort. I have accepted that which I cannot change. I do my best to save and improve all lives. I have not managed to save and improve all lives but I have saved and improved some lives through my words, actions and inactions.

I am not talking about the future. When the Sun expands it will incinerate the Earth. That does not mean that the Earth is not orbiting the Sun right now. London is currently the capital of the United Kingdom. If in the future, the Earth becomes one country and United Kingdom ceases to be a country then London will no longer be the capital of the United Kingdom but that does not mean that it is not the capital of the United Kingdom now. When we observe the rising of the Sun from Earth, it rises over the horizon form the East - not North, not South, not West.

Certainty does not depend on the duration something is true. It is certain that the Earth orbits the Sun now. The fact that the expansion of the Sun will incinerate the Earth does not make it any less certain that the Earth orbits the Sun now.

Thank you for your reply. There are trillions of things that we know with 100% certainty e.g. the Earth orbits the Sun, London is the capital of the United Kingdom, the Sun rises in the East, living things die, etc.

Thank you for telling me about Bayesian inference. It is fascinating but it is not possible to answer my questions about the true nature of selves and universes.

We don't know and probably can't know whether living things are real souls without real bodies, real souls in real bodies or real bodies without real souls.

We also don't know and probably can't know whether the universe is actually real or is a simulation or hallucination or dream or illusion. The most likely scenario is that we will all die without knowing the true nature of selves and universes.

I cry about the fact that there is so much suffering, inequality, injustice, and death in the world. If I could, I would make all living things forever happy - including the dead ones and the never-born ones. I wish I could make all living things all-loving, all-knowing and all-powerful then there would be no suffering, inequality, injustice and death.

Thank you.

Pragmatism is my solution.

I agree.

It is possible that Hinduism is true. No, I am not a Hindu but there are Hindus on Earth. It is impossible to test the hypothesis that living things are souls who reincarnate according to karma in an illusory universe called Maya.

I am an agnostic atheist pragmatist. When I am driving, I don't go around thinking that hitting pedestrians won't matter because the pedestrians are not actually real. They are real enough to have consequences for them and for me.

We don't know and probably can't know whether living things are real souls without real bodies, real souls in real bodies or real bodies without real souls.

We also don't know and probably can't know whether the universe is actually real or is a simulation or hallucination or dream or illusion. The most likely scenario is that we will all die without knowing the true nature of selves and universes.

I cry about the fact that there is so much suffering, inequality, injustice, and death in the world. If I could, I would make all living things forever happy - including the dead ones and the never-born ones. I wish I could make all living things all-loving, all-knowing and all-powerful then there would be no suffering, inequality, injustice and death.

Dear living things,
My aim in life is to save and improve all lives. I am requesting all living things to share my goal. One for all and all for one. Together, we can do much more than we can alone.
With unconditional love,
Someone who loves you.

I disagree. Evolution is not sentient. It does not choose anything consciously. It is a process that occurs in the real world - whatever its true nature.

I agree.

Thank you for the formula but how does that apply to my problems?

Here are my two problems:

1. What is my true nature? Am I a soul without a body or a soul in a body or a body without a soul?

2. Is the universe real or a simulation or my hallucination or my dream or an illusion?

Are all of the above possibilities equally likely? I don't currently know but does that mean I won't ever know?

I disagree. If you behead someone, they die. This is not a belief. This is a fact - an item of knowledge.

Yes, there are lots of things we can know for sure. For example, we know that the website address for this website is https://thephilosophyforum.com and we know that the language this message is written in is English. There are trillions of such examples.