How is nature 'good'? What part? But you are arguing from the point of view of ethics/morals and what is right/wrong. Nature is built on predation, manipulation and deceit either for defense or offense. So what is so different from what those who believe in the supernatural doing that's so different? You need to blame nature truly. Nature is responsible for all of it. And then going further, the universe. So, it's nature that needs to be improved/changed etc and we try to do it all the time as there are things trying to harm or kill us constantly. I agree religion is a problem and very dangerous as we can see with extremist groups. It keeps an archaic element that anyone can call upon to not only justify a movement but "claim" ultimate power while "believing" it. ISIS, for example. But then look at atheist regimes like North Korea with their death/labor camps and oppression of it's people. They are not more ethical because of a lack of religion, though adding religion to justify atrocities and oppression is just more obnoxious, hateful and egotistical, if that is possible. But it's like with most things it seems, even food will kill you as it comes with harmful side effects. Very few things are pure and honest. But I agree with you overall in that I think religion will seriously at one point in the future will have to undergo a revolution in that either it will be greatly modified from today or it should go the way of the dinosaur. The only issue with that is there should be a good replacement in place before that though or else it may just be a temporary hiatus or lull as it's just amoral ground zero otherwise and just as bad or worse can come from that.
birch On nature. It is irrefutable that we live in the best of all possible worlds , as this is the only possible world given the anthropic principle, entropy and our past. So saying nature is not good would not be accurate at all. It is the best it can possibly be. We might think of many changes we would like to make, but that does not negate that what we have is the best that can possibly be, given the history behind us. Regards DL
Your forgot to mention that evolution also promotes cooperation. Perhaps that is why your reply is so one sided. With that in mind, the religious should have their supernatural imaginary God default to cooperation the same way people do when they can. Regards DL
And how does cooperation have to do with ethics? If someone doesn't need to cooperate, they may just destroy, if they don't care about ethics. Ethics is a rather interesting thing, especially in light of those are capable of opposite extremes such as gratutious violence and predation of innocence for it's own sake/enjoyment. So ethics is, similarly from what i've noticed, a choice that is not always dependent on survival but just compassion or sympathy. My view isn't one-sided. It is, unfortunately, a fact. And that fact is nature doesn't require the best from us and it can always revert to the lowest base as a tool or reset and that low is an understatement. Since you are agnostic, you should know that in the past, the agnostics were honest in evaluating this universe as inferior. It was the christians who hyped it based on ego as most would do. Even the bible says a house built on sand will fall and its falling all the time. It's always dependent on constant predation and deceit which should tell anyone who still has not been completely desensitized that something crucial is missing here. But the biggest illusion that's the most telling is there is no real foward 'evolution' because the same inferior or distasteful traits evolve and come along right with us, that's because those traits the laws of nature favors so you have more nasty or mean organisms winning and procreating. This is why you have a strange blend of technology and primitive organisms (humans) resulting in a subpar society. The reality is definitely not some star trek episode full of the most well behaved, ethical, intelligent and evolved (in the positive sense) humans. Truthfully, if humans don't decide to turn this technology on itself as in genetic manipulation, it will always be the same.
Inferior?? It is demonstrable that we live in the best of all possible worlds because it is the only possible world, given our past. You may think it inferior but those who see clearly will see the evolving perfection I see. It may be subpar to you but to reality, it is the best that we have collectively been able to accomplish to date and is the best that it can possibly be, given all the conditions that have brought us to this point in time. This is irrefutable. Regards DL
Nature, the World, Solar System, Galaxy, Universe just is what it is No more No less Value judgements such as good or bad are purely subjective opinions and in essence meaningless as a description of Nature the World etc Nor is it a Chainsaw massacre World Again it is what it is The whole Universe operates under unchanging and unchangeable laws of physics Life has to follow those laws with the wrinkles of being unpredictable in the assessment of its actions There are NO laws of Nature which are seperate and independent from the Laws of Physics Laws of Nature are a myth Nature is subservient to Physics The unpredictable part occurs because the observer does not have all the information on what is being observed I refute it So it is not Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You forgot to include the rest of what I put so as to make your foolishness look better than what it does. That is patently dishonest and it that is the only way you can feed your ego then ------ Regards DL
I refute it Best is a value judgement and has no more or less than any other value judgement given It is what it is No more No less What made the world the way it is at any moment is a product of previous happenings which results in the only possible world given the limitations of Physics No ego to feed here Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Only possible doesn't mean best. In fact I would argue that the world runs on imperfection. Every life form is a compromise since it only has to be barely good enough to survive and reproduce. If a system thrives on the horror of predator/ prey interactions, it will.
Best possible. Again you pull one word from a sentence without pulling all of them to complete the thought. Not too bright that. Regards DL
Or even less bright. I was being politically correct. Are you the one who likes pain in your S & M circles? Regards. DL
It doesn't mean ANYTHING Again best is a value judgement It is what it is No more No less (Lifts needle off cracked record) In fact I would argue that the world runs on imperfection The World runs under the laws of physics Unchanging and unchangeable Every life form is a compromise The compromise is the limitations of Physics barely good enough to survive and reproduce Barely <<< not require Horror is a value judgement and not required Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I'm not afraid to make value judgements about life on Earth, I mean, we are talking about god, not anything real like physics. Of course physics describes base interactions, but when you look at evolution, imperfection rather than perfection is how innovation proceeds. Mutations are necessary to avoid stagnation in the predator/ prey arms race.
yeah... pretty much my point LOL is there a difference? in order to be a "god" by definition there must be actions that we would consider beyond nature, thus the term supernatural i saw you post this to birch, but i thought i would add something: nature simply is - it isn't good or bad it is actually we who are adapted to "nature" as it is right now making it "the best it can possibly be" it is nonsensical to qualify nature with any comment like "good" or "bad" . . one thing i have to add about religion versus faith - as i see it: - a faith can be benign. it is quite literally hard wired into the human psyche. we jump to conclusions. we make assumptions that aren't based on evidence. - a religion, however, is different. it is not benign by any means - it is destructive. a religion is the codified rules, normally surrounding a faith, designed for judgement and application of said judgement to segregate others. the codified rules are usually not flexible so a religion is prejudice or judgement for the purpose of segregation and as such is divisive by designed - and though most xtians will state otherwise, this is most noticeable when talking about separate xtian beliefs, muslims, judaism, athiests or anyone who rejects xtian belief or states morality doesn't come from their religion by religion's very existence we teach others that prejudice is ok so long as you perceive your religion to be morally superior this then carries over to other aspects of life like: politics, pseudoscience, conspiracies, etc
I was going to get a bunch of info on old Emperors who named themselves Gods and their sons as sons of God but decided on an easier route. Yours is a more modern interpretation. The ancients thought that it was impossible to give God any attributes, including supernatural ones. I agree with them because if we give attributes to the unknowable, unfathomable and mysterious, then it would negate the knowableness, un-fathomable-ness and mystery that is God. http://bigthink.com/videos/what-is-god-2-2 I agree. I do not agree. If we can quantify some of nature than we can quantify it as a whole unit as well. Try putting two bananas in front of yourself. one green and one ripe. Take a bite of each. One you might think better than the other if you have normal taste buds. The good one to you could be called good and the other could be called bad. You mentioned we were suited to and adapted to our environment. That makes it good for us. If evil, we might have gone extinct. Faith, at it's root, is belief without evidence or proof and is a good way to show that the person of faith is not interested in the truth. Martin Luther. “Faith must trample under foot all reason, sense, and understanding.” “Reason is a whore, the greatest enemy that faith has.” http://imgur.com/IBroXK9 I mostly agree with your words on religions. I summarize. They are immoral and not worthy of us. Regards DL
While as you note we can quantify aspects of nature, the level or measurement we ascribe to any aspect remains a value judgement I am unaware of ANY absolute in nature Well one I guess would be the speed of light Other aspects of Physics are still being refined and I guess will reach a final absolute sometime But LIFE I would contend, while operating under the laws of physics, has a flexibility to conform to conditions suitable to grow and reproduce and the adaptability to change should conditions change Conditions are what they are and life is what it is End of story Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
perhaps - but just calling yourself a god doesn't mean you are one typically when someone mentions a "god" there is some imparting of supernatural ability, hence my comment no one ever believed that historical leadership was actually a "god" by definition - they simply had the power over life and death and the typical lesser class went along that isn't the same thing as being a god by any stretch of the imagination ok - that is your prerogative nope - and this is where the mistake lies, IMHO one is ripe and the other is not - so that is an incorrect analogy for you, but underscores my point why? in order for something to be good or bad there must be some morality attached to it, and that means there must be a person to add the subjective interpretation of the situation. therefore it's anthropomorphic interpretation of fruit WRT - your banana argument the banana evolved to a point where it replicates with a certain process. it has fruit as part of this life cycle. there is no "good" or "bad" in being ripe or not ripe. there is only being ripe and not ripe. it isn't about good or bad in any way. it's about the evolved cycle of life period full stop nonsensical again - this is like saying that a Lion making a kill on the serengeti is evil for eating an innocent goat neither evil or innocent can be logically assumed in either argument, for the lion or the goat if we were alive and it was not the same environment we see today we would be suited to that environment, therefore you can't call it evil, nor can it logically be called evil if we were extinct. it would suck for those who were extinct, for sure, but that isn't the same thing as being evil. it is just being dead