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Atheists. Why. . .
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
No idea. But this is interesting (but needs a subscription to read all of it!): Before the big bang: something or nothing
Alan Henness
There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:
1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?
There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:
1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
"even though the universe has a beginning, its origins may be lost in the mists of time." Oooh, spotted a self-contradiction: if the origins are lost in the mists of time, that means there must already have been mists, ergo water, to hide the origins
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
Why does there necessarily need to be an answer to that question? We would only be able to attempt to answer it in human terms anyway, which, given our consmic insignificance, would tend to suggest that we are quite likely to get it wrong anyway.lmbarre wrote:... is there something rather than nothing?
While we are at it, can I recommend Lawrence Krauss to you? A Universe from Nothing is on Youtube, and very good it is too. And as he says, "Nothing isn't Nothing, anymore....."
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
+1Nick wrote:. . .. . .
While we are at it, can I recommend Lawrence Krauss to you? A Universe from Nothing is on Youtube, and very good it is too. . . .
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- Joined: July 14th, 2007, 8:38 am
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
Great talk. Thanks for telling us about it.Nick wrote:Why does there necessarily need to be an answer to that question? We would only be able to attempt to answer it in human terms anyway, which, given our consmic insignificance, would tend to suggest that we are quite likely to get it wrong anyway.lmbarre wrote:... is there something rather than nothing?
While we are at it, can I recommend Lawrence Krauss to you? A Universe from Nothing is on Youtube, and very good it is too. And as he says, "Nothing isn't Nothing, anymore....."
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- Posts: 634
- Joined: September 1st, 2007, 3:48 pm
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
I've always liked Sidney Morgenbesser's answer: " If there were nothing you'd still be complaining!"lmbarre wrote:... is there something rather than nothing?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Morgenbesser
More seriously, though... I'm not sure that it's a proper question. Questions of the form Why are there...? are answered by reference to something else: tectonic plates for mountains, differences in food supply for varieties of tortoises in the Galapagos Islands, the presence of Neptune for perturbations in the orbit of Uranus, and so on. But this won't work for the universe as a whole, because there is no something else.
What we can't say, we can't say and we can't whistle it either. — Frank Ramsey
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
lmbarre - please go to the new thread I have asking you some questions. I have put this here presuming you have email notifications.
..besieged, by a thousand or more .. Mexicans.. surrender at discretion, otherwise, ... put to the sword, .. I have answered.. with a cannon shot, .... sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier ... Victory or Death. William Barret Travis
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
A question that's difficult to answer. Therefore God? No, still just a question that's difficult to answer.
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
Realization that we will never know all the answers to every question in our minds, can be liberating in itself. Look for those answers and research possibilities. Celebrate when you find an answer and don't despair if you can't. Kind of like that phrase, "agree to disagree". Agree that some things will always be a mystery. And, isn't that great. When all mysteries are solved, we humans will be so bored. What is life without a little mystery?
Laugh often/love much;leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child,a garden patch,or a redeemed social condition;play w/enthusiasm & sing w/exultation;know even 1 life has breathed easier because you lived. This is success.B.A.Stanley
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
If it is true that matter cannot be created or destroyed, then we empirical evidence that matter is eternal.animist wrote:"even though the universe has a beginning, its origins may be lost in the mists of time." Oooh, spotted a self-contradiction: if the origins are lost in the mists of time, that means there must already have been mists, ergo water, to hide the origins
The Big Bank did not create something out of nothing. Matter simply morphed into our present universe.
LM Barré
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
But, surely, matter and energy are the same thing. Matter can become energy and vice versa - what was its state before the Big Bang?If it is true that matter cannot be created or destroyed, then we empirical evidence that matter is eternal.
Is there, maybe, another state for energy/matter? What is Dark energy/matter?
"Look forward; yesterday was a lesson, if you did not learn from it you wasted it."
Me, 2015
Me, 2015
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
I quite agree. Nothingness is empirically demonstrated and a necessary derivative concept from Being. Being and Nothingness define each other.Nick wrote:Why does there necessarily need to be an answer to that question? We would only be able to attempt to answer it in human terms anyway, which, given our consmic insignificance, would tend to suggest that we are quite likely to get it wrong anyway.lmbarre wrote:... is there something rather than nothing?
I did not insist that it necessary. But is a good question that Sartre posed, don't you think?
While we are at it, can I recommend Lawrence Krauss to you? A Universe from Nothing is on Youtube, and very good it is too. And as he says, "Nothing isn't Nothing, anymore....."
LM Barré
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
I viewed you question and responded.geolab wrote:lmbarre - please go to the new thread I have asking you some questions. I have put this here presuming you have email notifications.
LM Barré
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
The question was posed by J.P Sarte.Manuel wrote:A question that's difficult to answer. Therefore God? No, still just a question that's difficult to answer.
LM Barré
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
As one who deifies Existence, I pose a radical ontological argument. It is impossible to deny Being, for in the act, Being is presupposed.Carja wrote:Realization that we will never know all the answers to every question in our minds, can be liberating in itself. Look for those answers and research possibilities. Celebrate when you find an answer and don't despair if you can't. Kind of like that phrase, "agree to disagree". Agree that some things will always be a mystery. And, isn't that great. When all mysteries are solved, we humans will be so bored. What is life without a little mystery?
Is a definition of God as Being or Existence warranted? Indeed it is, on the basis of the incomprehensibility of the vastness and complexity of the cosmos. How many electrons are there in the known universe? What is the temperature of the heat of all of the known stars? It is scientific knowledge that reveals Existence as God(dess). Retreating from this conclusion I think is a most irrational skepticism.
LM Barré
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
Yes, therefore God.Manuel wrote:A question that's difficult to answer. Therefore God? No, still just a question that's difficult to answer.
LM Barré
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
Yes, but watch out for an uncourageous retreat into irrational skepticism.Carja wrote:Realization that we will never know all the answers to every question in our minds, can be liberating in itself. Look for those answers and research possibilities. Celebrate when you find an answer and don't despair if you can't. Kind of like that phrase, "agree to disagree". Agree that some things will always be a mystery. And, isn't that great. When all mysteries are solved, we humans will be so bored. What is life without a little mystery?
LM Barré
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
Why do you have no idea?Alan H wrote:No idea. But this is interesting (but needs a subscription to read all of it!): Before the big bang: something or nothing
LM Barré
Re: Atheists. Why. . .
Because it's not something I have spent any effort into thinking about.lmbarre wrote:Why do you have no idea?Alan H wrote:No idea. But this is interesting (but needs a subscription to read all of it!): Before the big bang: something or nothing
Alan Henness
There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:
1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?
There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:
1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?