Brother Jeff Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 nihilist athiest. nothing matters and everything is pointless. What a depressing outlook. With that sort of outlook on life, why bother with living? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBeeland Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 nihilist athiest. nothing matters and everything is pointless. What a depressing outlook. With that sort of outlook on life, why bother with living? That's what I'd like to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimov Posted September 17, 2006 Author Share Posted September 17, 2006 nihilist athiest. nothing matters and everything is pointless. What a depressing outlook. With that sort of outlook on life, why bother with living? That's what I'd like to know. Are you serious about this viewpoint, SBeeland? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBeeland Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 nihilist athiest. nothing matters and everything is pointless. What a depressing outlook. With that sort of outlook on life, why bother with living? That's what I'd like to know. Are you serious about this viewpoint, SBeeland? Not really, it doesn't mean anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsmoke Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 It's not a positive assertion to say that you believe there is no god. Er.. is that how you meant that to read? "I believe there is no god" strikes me as being a positively stated position about something which can't be known--albeit to the opposite effect of most statements involving the existence of a deity. Simply lacking a belief either way seems to me the more accurate and rational position to take, given both the unproveable nature of such a being and the inherent neutrality of the position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimov Posted September 17, 2006 Author Share Posted September 17, 2006 Not really, it doesn't mean anything. Well yea, because you're a nihilist. I'm just wondering if you'd care to debate your viewpoint regarding "nothing matters and everything is pointless". Er.. is that how you meant that to read? "I believe there is no god" strikes me as being a positively stated position about something which can't be known--albeit to the opposite effect of most statements involving the existence of a deity. Simply lacking a belief either way seems to me the more accurate and rational position to take, given both the unproveable nature of such a being and the inherent neutrality of the position. It's not a neutral position, a neutral position would be to have no concept of God. Once you're informed of a concept you automatically either believe or disbelieve it. The semantics of the issue is amazing. Essentially, saying that you believe there is no god is a challenge statement to the one asserting that there is a God. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burden_of_pro...ical_fallacy%29 Another thing is that it requires proof of a negative, which is essentially the opposite of the argument from ignorance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_a_negative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsmoke Posted September 17, 2006 Share Posted September 17, 2006 I see. Was afraid my pedantry was going to backfire on me there. Thanks for the explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimov Posted September 17, 2006 Author Share Posted September 17, 2006 I see. Was afraid my pedantry was going to backfire on me there. Thanks for the explanation. Cool. You can turn any belief into a "negative" or "positive" belief. If Theists were as pedantic as some atheists, they could say that theism is the "disbelief that a god does not exist" and that they merely "lack the belief in the non existence of God". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsmoke Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Gah! Even understanding and agreeing with your point there, the English major in me cringes at the rampant double-negatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimov Posted September 18, 2006 Author Share Posted September 18, 2006 Gah! Even understanding and agreeing with your point there, the English major in me cringes at the rampant double-negatives. Those are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightbearer Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Who is this guy that wrote this? I've never heard of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimov Posted September 21, 2006 Author Share Posted September 21, 2006 Who is this guy that wrote this? I've never heard of him. He's an objectivist who doesn't associate himself with Ayn Rand, but still follows the same sort of thing...albeit his arguments in some aspects are fairly weak. go to strongatheism.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redross Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Asimov: How can you say you only believe in material objects (objects with substance)? Don't you believe that certain abstracts, such as math or thoughts, exist? Ja I said it...what! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsmoke Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Who is this guy that wrote this? I've never heard of him. He's an objectivist who doesn't associate himself with Ayn Rand, but still follows the same sort of thing...albeit his arguments in some aspects are fairly weak. go to strongatheism.net He was a member of the forums here for a time as well. He's an intelligent man, to be sure, but his "social graces," such as they are(n't), could use some serious polishing (preceeded by a good flogging, chiseling away the outer layers and sanding down what rough edges will most certainly yet remain). Needless to say, he didn't endear himself to many of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimov Posted October 10, 2006 Author Share Posted October 10, 2006 Asimov: How can you say you only believe in material objects (objects with substance)? Don't you believe that certain abstracts, such as math or thoughts, exist? Ja I said it...what! Thoughts exist as neurological impulses. They are material, and we can detect them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redross Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Asimov: How can you say you only believe in material objects (objects with substance)? Don't you believe that certain abstracts, such as math or thoughts, exist? Ja I said it...what! Thoughts exist as neurological impulses. They are material, and we can detect them. We'll talk about this later. *slams car door* And ja, Asimov can be a dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twincats Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I'm a Wiccan and I don't have any problem at all with atheists. Y'all have some great ideas for dealiing with the fundies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I'm just a plain old Atheist. It's silly and counter productive to divide Atheism into catagories or types. Not everyone can be shoved into a narrowly, and usually sophomorically, defined niche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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