It seems to me as if a lot of debates in the public arena are stupid. — Andrew4Handel
Nation-states are arbitrary, universal ideals that promote the greater good are a a much more rationally and ethically sound basis for political commitment. Loyalty to country should depend on how faithful a country is to those principles. Another thing to keep in mind is that of all the countries that have existed throughout history not many were worthy of any sort of patriotic devotion, most were barbarous and brutal and built on bullshit and savagery.Is there any reason why actual leftists and liberals can't be as comfortable loving and serving their personal nation-state as the typical conservative? — Bitter Crank
Adnan Khashoggi, pimp, thief, fraudster, international arms salesman, has just died. He said:
What did I do wrong? Nothing. I behaved unethically, for ethical reasons.
— Khassoggi
Is that even possible? — mcdoodle
You seem to be operating under the erroneous opinion that I have said that all brute facts are necessary beings. I haven't said that, so you are arguing against a paper tiger. — John
You are confusing efficient causation, which has no inherent connections with reasons for actions, with other conceptions such as formal or final causation, which do necessarily involve reasons for actions. — John
Something cannot be its own sufficient reason simply because in that there is no possibility of any relationship whereby one thing is the cause of, or reason for, the other. — John
You base your personal assessment of porn use off your personal use of coke, then? — Noble Dust
all cocaine users are addicted on the first hit — Noble Dust
The only brute that I can think of is the contingency of everything, the fact that what is, could possibly be otherwise. — Cavacava
if you bring God into the discussion as a brute fact then, I think we are no longer having a rational conversation, and while God may work for many as the brute fact of existence, I am not one of them. — Cavacava
"everything must have a reason" is going to wind up either being or resting on something that one accepts as a brute fact, anyway. — Terrapin Station
total R&D makes up just 3.6% of the US budget in 2015, and spending on renewable energy makes up less than 4% of that. That’s a little more than US$5 billion out of the total US$134.2 billion R&D expenditure. Compared to the effort and outlay to put a man on the moon, this is orders of magnitude smaller(NASA’s funding peaked in 1966 with the organisation employing 400,000 people and consuming more than 4% of the US federal budget).
But the problem today is much bigger. Governments must be more proactive and, in line with recent research, we should use public money to direct millions of scientists and engineers towards solar power, electric transport or better batteries. It won’t deliver a “man on the moon” moment, but this investment is the only way to truly end our dependence on fossil fuels.
3) Belief is an attitude which accepts a proposition as true without evidence. — Galuchat
That sort of expediency comes at a price and it's effectiveness is questionable to begin with. Also in context of the bigger picture it's just bad strategy, it's a bad idea to polarize society with deceitful tactics.the fastest way to do it. — Rich
I don't get any more worked up over that than I do over the 15,000 or so murders that happen every day in the world. Do you just walk around perpetually horror stricken and if not why are those people more important to you than the rest? I keep rationally detached from the horror of the world by keeping in mind that while most people don't deserve it hardly any of us are inculpable either. We all collectively have created this world and if it's a bloody horror show then we're all in part responsible for that.How do you respond to the recent terror attacks? With a "meh, it happened; but I can't turn back time, so it's useless to dwell"? That's pretty sociopathic. — Michael
I've followed most of the major conflicts fairly closely and it's clear to me that there's dishonesty and delusion on both sides of these issues. Climate change is probably the best example, one side is claiming far more certainty than is warranted and being alarmist while the other side idiotically denies that there very well may be a serious problem developing. Both sides are mightily steeped in bullshit and neither side is coming off it any time soon.If you think that, you must not live in the United States. — Srap Tasmaner
Science is a method and the body of knowledge established by that method. As far as I can see there is no opposition to science as such, the disputes are mostly over what qualifies as science. Everybody wants science on their side, unfortunately not too many of us are actually on the side of science. Science is mostly abused in our society, some claim the science is settled when it isn't and others bastardize the method to produce convenient junk science or pseudo science. It's all a big farce really and it shows that science can't save a species that is fervently devoted to bullshit.in these times, the word "science" is a fighting word — Srap Tasmaner
Talk changes nothing. It may even be good for smart dictators. — Agustino
One of the main things citizens do is talk to each other. If your government does something you disagree with, it is important to talk about it. That doesn't have to be some big public display. You talk to your family and friends, just like you talk about anything else you care about. — Srap Tasmaner
How is consciousness emergent? You have colors, shapes, sounds, smells, feelings and attention. What else is there to consciousness? — Harry Hindu
I'd deny that there's a single Christian who doesn't believe in God. I consider that contradictory — Terrapin Station
that made my eyes roll completely around so many times. — Terrapin Station
what could it mean for Jesus to be either real or not? — John
It seems like some sort of phenomenal experience that's often interpreted as religious experience is fairly common. But it also seems like something that not everyone has. Or at least not everyone has it in a manner where it's at all plausible to them that it's religious experience. The closest I come to it, for example, is maybe an ineffable resonant/ecstatic feeling in response to some artworks, romantic encounters, environmental immersion, etc. — Terrapin Station