Re: extropians-digest V8 #158

From: Steve Nichols (steve@multisell.com)
Date: Sat Jun 07 2003 - 12:16:53 MDT

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    > From: "Brett Paatsch" <paatschb@optusnet.com.au>
    > > >
    > > > Historically if there has been a personal upside to atheism
    > > > for the atheist I can't see it. It seems to me that not
    > > > believing in things without evidence would normally be a
    > > > benefit to the individual. But not believing in that which
    > > > gives one's contemporaries hope
    > > > would be a detriment.
    > > >
    > >
    > > MAYBE JUST THE TRUTH IS SUFFICIENT IN ITSELF?
    >
    > I don't think so. "The truth" doesn't come at us or yield itself in
    > one big chunk.
    >
    > I think the individual's pursuit of "truth" amounts to a utilitarian
    > pursuit. Without a subjective basis and bias towards seeing the
    > world in an ordered and consistent way I doubt sentient beings
    > would bother too much with just any particular objective
    > factoid or even with grand unified theories.
    >
    > I think even the interest in objective facts like 1 + 1 = 2 is a
    > subjective one.
    >
    > Brett Paatsch

    Sure, 1+1=2 and whole of maths relies on the identity statement 1 = 1 .....
    but maths says nothing about the world (if you take a fictionalist view of
    it as I do). However, EXISTENCE truth claims require (preferably)
    verification or proof .... but not only can't Old Nobodaddy be seen or
    pointed to or in any way proved ... but NOT EVEN ANY SHRED OF EVIDENCE
    supports the ludicrous hypothesis!

    MVT on the other hand requires no suspension of disbelief, and anyone can
    inspect (if no longer experiment on) the pineal eye of a sphaenodon. The
    statement "Sphenodon lives" is true, whereas the statement "God lives/
    exists" is unsupported by fact.

    Best,
    Steve
    http://members.ebay.co.uk/aboutme/multisel



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