Stratoconian Presumption/was Re: [extropy-chat] Atheists launch inquisition...

Technotranscendence neptune at superlink.net
Sun Nov 28 22:52:21 UTC 2004


Since Mike Lorrey seems to be getting stuck on this point...  Olga
probably put it best.  If one were to have to believe any idea until one
had a refutation of that idea handy, then one's mind will be clogged
with an infinite number of wrong and probably dangerously wrong ideas.
Just think of simple one.  X hears a loud growl from behind the door.
Think of all things that the growl could be -- no matter how ludichrist.
Yet in order to live and function in the world X has to not work from
that sort of wide open epistemic stance of finding disproofs, but to
find some other method.  Hence, things like Ockham's Razor and "burden
of proof" arguments.  In other words, there has to be a reason to accept
an idea into one's beliefs.

However, this Stratoconian Presumption -- as applied to a Creator;
basically Strato argued that it was much simpler to posit an uncreated
cosmos than an uncreated creator plus a cosmos unless someone could
offer other proof -- is aside from the argument that the idea of God
itself is flawed -- as Damien put it like a "square circle."  Mike
offered that there might be another logic we don't understand.  Granted,
but that cuts any way anyone wants it to.  (I could argue that in a
future, better logic, everything I say is right and anytime Mike
contradicts me he is wrong.  Does anyone else find this "argument from
future logic(s)" rather ad hoc?:)  Logic beyond what we now know might
actually prove to Mike's content that there is no God.  There's no way
to know in advance and until we have that better logic, sticking with
logic as we know it -- and understanding some of its limits (Cf. Graham
Priest's _An Introduction to Non-Classical Logic_) -- it's safe to state
that the concept basically makes no sense and is incoherent.  (It's also
likely that future advances in logic will not overturn the logic of this
argument, but will merely add to it.)

Actually, too, theists were the first to admit this.  Tertullian was a
Christian.  He invented the Tertullian Argument!  We've had how many
centuries since his time to reform logic and refine the idea of God?

Regards,

Dan
http://uweb.superlink.net/neptune/

                                        "We have seen
 Good men made evil wrangling with the evil.
Straight minds grown crooked fighting crooked minds.
Our peace betrayed us; we betrayed our peace.
Look at it well.  This was the good town once." -- from "The Good Town"
by Edwin Muir




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