[ExI] The atoms red herring. =|

[Jeff Davis]

On Tue, Nov 16, 2010 at 3:22 PM, Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
> On 11/16/2010 4:27 PM, Jeff Davis wrote:
>
>>> ... is mute on metaphysical issues...
>>
>> Metaphysical?!!  Translation:  Oooga booga superstition. Dragons,
>> demons. devils, angels, ghosts, and goblins.
>
> No, Jeff, no. That's not what "metaphysical" means

Fine, Damien, I stand corrected.  But...

Everything I see in Alan' posts on this matter seems fact free.
Circular logic based entirely on his personal subjective belief in his
correctness.  : " I'm right, this is what I believe, therefor this is
true." -- ie. 100% pure ego, 0% logical validity.

For example:   "I want you, right now, to try to mind-swap yourself
into your cat, or your computer or anything else you might find more
suitable. I presume the experiment will fail. So why did it?"

Look at those last two sentences.  He "presumes"?!!  Well, of course
he "presumes".  That's the basis of his "knowledge".  But there's no
knowledge in it, just pure ego.

A reasonable, fair-minded, intellectually competent, non-ego-based
formulation of this mental experiment  would be:

"I want you, right now, to try to mind-swap yourself into your cat, or
your computer or anything else you might find more suitable.  What
happens?"

No presumptions allowed.

But who am I?  Just another easily annoyed egoist.  So let me bring my
buddy Bertrand into this:

    "The whole problem with the world is that fools
             and fanatics are always so certain of themselves,
                          and wiser people so full of doubts."
                                                  Bertrand Russell

I took Gordon's side in this discussion last time, because he was
civil, he actually **had** an argument (weak perhaps, but that could
be said of any of us), and I felt a robust opposition made for a
robust discussion.  Alan's "argument" is all ego, embellished with
contempt for any who disagree.

To me that spells time-waster and troll (if that's not too redundant).

I don't know.  Maybe I'm just in a bad mood.

 Best, Jeff Davis

 "We don't see things as they are,
       we see them as we are."
                  Anais Nin