Think Humanism

Lord Muck oGentry

The notion of rights, whether moral or legal, can take a bit of sorting out.

I've always found Hohfeld a useful starting-point. Simple version here:
http://personal.bgsu.edu/~roberth/hohfeld.html

Wet-towel-round-the-head stuff here at 2.1:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights/

Lord Muck oGentry

Maria wrote:This seems a good place to remind folk that Celtic Connections is coming soon.

Excellent! Lady Muck and I are stalwarts of the Festival Club.

Lord Muck oGentry

Alan H wrote:
gcb01 wrote:This was simply an unsuccessful ruse to get round a US Supreme Court ruling.
Yes, but what'll be their next tactic (assuming we don't think they'll just give up!)?

Nice warm words like diversity:

http://learning-together.org.uk/docs/called16.htm

Lord Muck oGentry

FloatingBoater wrote:
De Menenses was and innocent victim, yes,

not of the Met

but of the terrorists still amongst us who would threaten us all.

True

False

False

( in that order)

FB,

I understand, I hope, why you say these things. But I prefer humdrum truth.

Lord Muck oGentry

Maria wrote:I like how you think, Lord Muck.

I bet you say that to all the boys!

Lord Muck oGentry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aETl0oALYxg I can't work out if this is a weak attempt at humour or the guy is actually serious. He's all dressed up in a suit and tie and standing in front of a book case - is he taking off someone or genuinely trying to give himself an air of gravitas? If the latter...

Lord Muck oGentry

There are several modern versions of the Ontological Argument. As that cove mentioned Norman Malcolm, I imagine this is what he had in mind:

http://www.iep.utm.edu/o/ont-arg.htm

Section 4, about two thirds of the way down the page.

Lord Muck oGentry

They've been watching too much MASH and want Mulcahy Red to " put the fix in"?

Lord Muck oGentry

"1. When the prissy anti-Christs tell you the Bible stands in the way of science, inform them that the greatest scientific geniuses in history were devout Christians-and scientists from Newton to Einstein insisted that biblical religion provided the key ideas from which experimental science could de...

Lord Muck oGentry

Can't really say whether it would help me contemplate death if I thought I could survive it and go on to Paradise or something of that sort. But that's because I think the notion is incoherent: talk of life after death is simply talk of life going on- only in a rather odd way. So that thought isn't ...

Lord Muck oGentry

If I am opposed to the restoration of the death penalty because of the possibility of wrongful conviction and someone innocent being executed, to be consistent should I also be opposed to all war because of the possibility of innocent people being killed? It has been suggested elsewhere that I shou...

Lord Muck oGentry

Deacon Doubtmonger wrote:LMoG: OK if I wait till the weekend also? Such few functioning brain cells as I have left are overburdened from my job and rapidly losing millivolts ...

Yes, of course. In fact, I may be busy for a few days myself.

And look after those brain cells- they're all we've got.

Lord Muck oGentry

I don't mind atheist, secularist, humanist, naturalist.

But above all I'm a Resistentialist:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistentialism

Lord Muck oGentry

Another vote here for John 11:35.
But usually in the slightly extended form-
John 11 [ empty intensifier] 35.

Lord Muck oGentry

Good one, Nick.

Lord Muck oGentry

DD, Sorry for the delay. Let me deal with the CofE joke first. The clergyman is a stock figure, who finds himself in a quandary when he is challenged about eternal suffering in Hell. He can't deny the dogma without impiety, but his natural kindness rebels at the thought of such suffering. So he reso...

Lord Muck oGentry

DD,

Thank you for the detailed reply.

May I put off replying until the weekend? For the moment at least, other matters call.

Lord Muck oGentry

FMG!
It's got footnotes. Well, that settles it.

Lord Muck oGentry

If we are to say instead that using the gas is objectionable but using the wand is not, we need to find a relevant difference. One way is to say that religious belief is erroneous and irreligion is not. And it could be said that no excuse is needed to change erroneous belief by coercion: error has ...

Lord Muck oGentry

But what methods are justifiable if "it's dead but won't lie down"? To my mind, none. If this really is the case, then it means that there is a significant proportion of people for whom it is a natural part of their existence, and any attempt to change their minds will necessarily be coercive. What...

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Re: The Achilles Heel of Atheism

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