Comments

  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    ↪Wayfarer
    Of course you do.
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    Masking the reality with heroism — schopenhauer1
    Neither claiming nor implying such, how does "heroism" equate to "masking the reality" when a hero is usually someone who defies reality, fatally risking herself, rather than someone who denies reality? :chin:

    Besides, I don't see what's wrong with, or dishonest about, cultivating any "coping mechanism" that actually reduces fear and harm more than it increases them.

    At the end of the day, there is no relief, only sleep and death. Everything else is MALIGNANTLY USELESS...
    — schopenhauer1

    As daoists, epicureans, pyrrhonists, spinozists, absurdists et al know first-hand: humor & creativity, friendship & compassion also provide "relief" during the often tedious intervals between "sleep and death".     — 180 Proof
    No "existential gaslighting" or "performative resiliance" – the fact is, schop, there are philosophies of defiance ("unselfing") such as those mentioned above contrary to sophistries of denial ("suicide") like fideism, anti-natalism or nihilism. :mask:
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    Yes. Do you think this requires a type of courage? — Tom Storm
    Absolutely. The indispensible virtue. With courage, cheerful-defiant pessimism (e.g. Nietzsche); without courage, resentful-defeatist pessimism (e.g. Schopenhauer) – singing the blues :death: :flower: or crippling anxiety :cry: :sad: , respectively.
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    At the end of the day, there is no relief, only sleep and death. Everything else is MALIGNANTLY USELESS ... — schopenhauer1
    As daoists, epicureans, pyrrhonists, spinozists, absurdists et al know first-hand: humor & creativity, friendship & compassion also provide "relief" during the often tedious intervals between "sleep and death".

    ↪Tarskian
    However you wish to interpret the relationship of the Torah & Quran, they are clearly not "the oldest records of moral rules" as you've claimed (and also they are subsequent derivatives from pre-Mosaic/non-divine sources).
  • The Sciences Vs The Humanities
    Science does require creativity as much as art. — I like sushi
    :up:
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    Consciousness surviving the body? If you are dualist, perhaps. — Manuel
    :up:
  • US Election 2024 (All general discussion)
    Election 2024 is again a basic IQ test: neoliberals (pols) versus neofascists (cons)? Hint: you don't have to be antifa, BLM, pro-woman, etc to demonstrate that you're intelligent (i.e. not a bleach-swilling, MAGA-moron, weirdo). :mask:

    Roevember is coming! :fire:
  • The Sciences Vs The Humanities
    ↪ucarr
    Yes, a difference in levels and objects of analyses, therefore different representations (just as e.g. a topological map & a road map can be different (complementary) descriptions.of the same terrain).
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    ↪Philosophim
    ↪Sam26
    Also contra "intelligent design" (i.e. creationism), consider the dysteleological argument:

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_poor_design

    In sum: both the universe in general and organic life in particular appear defective, or suboptimal, just as it's most reasonable to expect it to be according to evident and explicable, nonintelligent processes of (e.g.) nucleogenesis and biological evolution (especially given that 99.99% of baryonic matter – the observable universe that has been expanding for at least 13.8 billion years from a planck radius of random (i.e. non-causal, ergo not "created / designed") fluctuations – is vacuum radiation inimical to organic/human life (in a universe evidently "fine-tuned" for lifelessness).
  • The Sciences Vs The Humanities
    ↪ucarr
    Afaik, the sciences are a subset of the humanities – interpretative-representational discourses explicating aspects of the human condition – which seek, via defeasible reasoning, testable answers to empirical questions.
  • US Election 2024 (All general discussion)
    It's just weird. — Benkei
    :smirk:
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    You can find the oldest record of moral rules in the Torah and the Quran. — Tarskian
    Not so. Consider ...

    • Code of Ani c2500 BCE
    • Code of Ur-Nammu c2100 BCE
    • Code of Hammurabi c1760 BCE
    • Law of Moses (Torah) c1000 BCE
    • Analects of Kongzi 475 BCE
    • Twelve Tables of Roman Law 451 BCE
    • Law of Manu 200 BCE
    • Code of Justinian 529 CE
    • Tang Code of China 624 CE
    • Sharia (Quran) 632 CE
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    Is A Utopian Society Possible? — kindred
    IFF, imo, it's a post-scarcity, philanthropic AGI-managed (automated), sprawl-free municipality (arcology) ... ideally, an O'Neill/McKendree cylinder (asteroid terrarium). :nerd:
  • Donald Trump (All General Trump Conversations Here)
    So then I'm wondering what will the Trump cult morph into next? — Benkei
    Probably rabid domestic terrorists ...
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    (I believe)

    The belief is all I have.

    I am only really speaking of order and chaos as emotions ...

    I would say that COMMON sense shows this is very true. 

    My belief is that the entire universe has as a rule ...

    ... the seemingly ephemeral 'thoughts and prayers' all have an effect. 

    ... my model of belief suggests ...     — Chet Hawkins
    You're entitled to "believe" whatever you like but these "beliefs" are not supported by either corroborable evidence or valid arguments. You're merely rationalizing, not reasoning – preaching, not philosophizing. We don't even disagree, Chet; we're playing different games, talking past one another.

    the philosophical difference between 'direction' and 'goal' is rather disingenuous ... The terms are effectively synonymous.
    No they aren't. For example, dying is not life's goal, only life's direction; thus, it's incoherent (or "disingenuous") to conflate them.
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    ↪Chet Hawkins
    Order is dissipative and thereby a phase-transition of disorder (i.e. chaos). Re: entropy. Also, the universe has a direction (i.e. thermal/cosmic equilibrium aka "balance"), not a "goal"; and "perfection" is not a/the "moral goal" but the dream of "the Good" that paralyzes – excuses failure at – actually doing good (i.e. preventing and reducing disvalues as much as practically possible aka "negative consequentialism"). 'Utopias' are mostly just thought-experiments (i.e. counterfactual what-ifs, forecasts, crises, etc) used to critique real world social systems in order to provoke public reasoning about alternatives and reforms which might prevent or reduce structural disvalues (e.g. injustices, inequities). Btw, "intention", like mere "thoughts & prayers", is mostly solipsistic (pace Kan't) and contra (Peircean-Deweyan) pragmatism.
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    ↪Tarskian
    My point is that philosophy as a way of life (P. Hadot) is a rational-reflective form of "spirituality" (i.e. daily ego/self-transparency to oneself) and not, as you suggest narrowly, necessarily non-spiritual. True, philosophy is not 'helpful' to everyone or as accessible to the masses as non-rational (e.g. cultic or dogmatic) forms of "spirituality"; unlike religions, however, philosophy has been indispensible for thinkers and poets, teachers and judges in every complex society.
  • The Happiness of All Mankind
    What are your thoughts on the matter? — Shawn
    Stalinism & Maoism, like Nazism/Fascism, were totalitarian theocratic-gangster systems wherein dehumanizing means undermined, or eliminated, humanizing ends. Nothing to do with indigenous communisms (or libertarian socialism).
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    The obvious implication of my argument is that there’s intelligence (consciousness or mind) behind the universe ... — Sam26
    Parsimony be damned, the principle of explosion (& effect of other "obvious" fallacies) always ... works in mysterious ways. :pray:

    If our [my] goal is to win an argument at all costs because we don’t like a particular [valid, scary] conclusion, then we are [I'm] not doing good philosophy ... especially if our [the] goal is truth.
    Confession is good for the soul, they say; don't you feel better now, Sam? :smirk:
  • Donald Trump (All General Trump Conversations Here)
    ↪praxis
    :sweat:

    ↪Mikie
    :up:
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    And I've long argued that if an individual life is understood as part of a continuum extending before physical birth that has consequences beyond physical death, that this can provide a framework within which the life beyond is at least conceivable.
    — Wayfarer

    Okay, so make the case – a sound argument – for this alleged "continuum" ... Once the facts of the matter are established, then we can interpret their philosophical ramifications (and, maybe, derive cogent, metaphysical conclusions). :chin:     — 180 Proof
    No doubt, @Wayfarer, you accidently missed this request.
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    Spirituality is a non-rational tool — Tarskian
    More precisely, "spirituality" is a stance or disposition towards daily experience (like e.g. creativity) and not merely a means-to-ends "tool".

    ... to stimulate survival instinct ...
    Not so. "Survival instinct" is autonomic (like e.g. respiration) and therefore does need to be extrinsically "stimulated".

    ... by connecting to something that is greater than ourselves and which is divine in nature ....
    I.e. metaphysics (i.e. categorical / absolute ideas) that is expressed via rational (inferential, dialectical) and/or non-rational (analogical, mythical) discursive practices.

    Philosophy is not meant to do that and therefore cannot replace that.
    Really? Tell that to Daoists, Confucists, Vedantists, Pythagoreans, Epicureans, Stoics, Neoplatonists, Aristotleans, Spinozists et al ... Each of these philosophies are manifest "spiritual" ways of life.

    Unlike spirituality, philosophy is not meant to assist with mental healthcare.
    This may be true of modern academic philosophy (e.g. Anglo-American analytical philosophy, Viennese logical positivism, Parisian post/structuralism, etc) but not true of contemporary variants on and applications of way of life philosophies (some of which I've already mentioned) such as (e.g.) rational emotive hehavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, existential therapy, logotherapy, clinical philosophy, etc.

    https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/when-philosophers-become-therapists
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    ↪AmadeusD
    If you prefer; for lucidity's sake I prefer unknown to the loaded, anti-scientific term "miracle".
  • Personal Identity and the Abyss
    ↪Thales
    "Personal identity" is an illusion (i.e. not what it seems – because biological & psychological changes are transparent to the subject) of self-continuity, or embodied cognition (primarily memory). Also, see Ship of Theseus / Neurath's Boat.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurath%27s_boat
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    ↪AmadeusD
    Okay if not "god", then what do you mean by "free miracle"?
  • Reasons for believing in the permanence of the soul?
    ↪Fooloso4
    :up:
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    physics after the free miracle — AmadeusD
    I.e. mygoddidit-of-the-gaps :sparkle:
  • US Election 2024 (All general discussion)
    A category 5 ketchup shitstorm in Mar-a-Loco! :mask:
  • Donald Trump (All General Trump Conversations Here)
    ↪Baden
    Okay. :sweat:
  • Donald Trump (All General Trump Conversations Here)
    12August24

    TIM240826-Kamala-Cover-FINAL.jpg?quality=75&w=2400

    Roevember is coming! :victory: :cool:
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    Philosophy cannot replace spirituality. — Tarskian
    What do you mean by "philosophy"and "spirituality" – what makes them fundamentally different?

    NB: Greco-Romans of the Hellenistic era practiced their philosophies (Epicureanism, Stoicism, Neoplatonism, etc) as ways of life consisting of "spiritual exercises" (P. Hadot).

    ↪schopenhauer1
    ???
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    You will find no other philosophy so reviled, misunderstood, and scorned, yet still true.
    — schopenhauer1

    Hallmark belief of a religious cult.     — Lionino
    :up:
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    Physicalism is, in slogan form, the thesis that everything is physical....
    —Stanford Encylopedia of Philosophy     — Wayfarer
    Yeah, of course, you"re making my point again: you traffic in slogans – strawmen – rather than informed, valid arguments. :smirk:
  • US Election 2024 (All general discussion)
    There’s no way I’m voting Trump — John McMannis
    If so, then vote against him in the most effective way based on your situation: if you live in a swing state (i.e. polling trends are within the margin of error so that there is a reasonable chance for Trump to win your state), then vote "Harris-Walz"; if, however, you live in a safe state (i.e. Trump can't either lose or win that state), then vote for a third-party candidate who most aligns with your policy preferences (e.g. I will write-in "Cornel West" here in Washington state).
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    Defenders of physicalism will say:

    1. The predictive [& explanatory] power and technological applications of physics are unparalleled by those of any other purported source of knowledge.

    2. Therefore what physics reveals to us is all that is real.     — Wayfarer
    Your second statement does not follow from the first statement which is why physicalists do not – I do not – make such a claim. Sadly, Wayf, you're still shadowboxing with strawmen rather than making actual valid arguments.
  • Is A Utopian Society Possible ?
    ... without pain, suffering, disease, wars, poverty or even death. — kindred
    Suitable for flora but not fauna.
  • Israel killing civilians in Gaza and the West Bank
    ↪AmadeusD
    :eyes: Troll is, I guess, as troll does.
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    Where is your evidence that people's perceptions that they are real, means they are real?

    Remember the sun circling around the Earth? Feeling like things are real is not the same as it actually being real. Even if a lot of people feel that it is. 

    The problem again, is you keep presenting information that definitely shows that NDEs are real subjective experiences, but does not have enough weight to argue that the interpretation of these subjective experiences match reality.     — Philosophim
    Are you paying attention to someone patient enough to spoon-feed criticisms I and others have made countless times of your non-philosophical non-arguments, @Sam26? :eyes:

    I have an open mind ... — Wayfarer
    Not so "open", I hope, that your brain falls out. :smirk:
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    ↪Sam26
    :rofl:
  • Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body
    Well, we just disagree.
    — @Sam26

    It is more than that. Your claim is objectively not a strong inductive argument, and you have objectively failed to present a good and cogent argument worth considering. This is the philosophy boards, not the opinion boards.     — Philosophim
    :100:

    ↪Relativist
    :up:

    And I've long argued that if an individual life is understood as part of a continuum extending before physical birth that has consequences beyond physical death, that this can provide a framework within which the life beyond is at least conceivable. — Wayfarer
    Okay, so make the case – a sound argument – for this alleged "continuum" ... Once the facts of the matter are established, then we can interpret their philosophical ramifications (and, maybe, derive cogent, metaphysical conclusions). :chin:
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