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I strongly disagree.<BR>> <BR>> The truth of the statement "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" is not a matter of opinion. It's a logical fact. If a person decides it's not true, they're discarding logic altogether, and simply can't be argued with.<<BR>
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<SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I agree with you 100%. It is a completely logical and true statement. But men and women have been using it for centuries to deny the existence of a universal creator, dressing up their arguments in the guise of logic when in fact, as you pointed out regarding opinion vs logic, the belief in the absence of a creator is as much of an opinion or belief as its opposite stance. And all because <EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'">Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence</SPAN></EM>. So many otherwise intelligent and insightful atheists I know destroy eloquent supporting arguments--bolstered by logic, reason and science-- because of their initial denial of this premise.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN><BR>
<SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN><BR>
<SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">It would be much more logical for Christopher Hitchins and Richard Dawkins to simply say,<EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'"> I don't know. There's no evidence to convince me. And it doesn't matter anyway because we have valid scientific scenarios where the universe could have originated on its own. It needs no creator to explain it. But I suppose it would be illogical of me to categorically deny the existence of a God of </SPAN></EM><EM><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">some</SPAN></EM><EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'"> sort just because I don’t see the evidence.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></SPAN><BR>
<EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM><BR>
<EM><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">What a relief that would be! An end to the unwinnable argument that has been sapping our resources and energy and holding captive our imaginations for millennia.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM><BR>
<EM><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></EM><BR>
<EM><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">That‘s pretty much what I meant, thought I may not have expressed <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>it well. </SPAN></EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Thanks for the reply. It made me think and re-assess (always a good thing.)<SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN><BR>
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<DIV align=center><B><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4><FONT color=#ff0000 face="Comic Sans MS"><SPAN id=ecxecxecxecxbtAsinTitle>Per Ardua Ad Astra</SPAN></FONT></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV align=center><B><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"><SPAN></SPAN></FONT><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt" size=3>For more info on author </FONT><FONT color=#ff0000>Darren Greer</FONT><FONT size=3> </FONT></FONT></FONT></B><B><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><FONT size=3 face="Comic Sans MS">visit </FONT></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV align=center><B><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4 face="Comic Sans MS"><A href="http://darrenshawngreer.blogspot.com/">http://darrenshawngreer.blogspot.com</A></FONT></FONT></B></DIV>
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<BR>> Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2010 01:00:23 -0700<BR>> From: bbenzai@yahoo.com<BR>> To: extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org<BR>> Subject: Re: [ExI] Belief in maths<BR>> <BR>> darren shawn greer <dgreer_68@hotmail.com> opined:<BR>> <BR>> > It is such an important discussion, for secular humanists<BR>> > and religious humanists are constantly having this argument.<BR>> > "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" and "It<BR>> > most certainly is!" I think every person has to make this<BR>> > decision for themselves<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> I strongly disagree.<BR>> <BR>> The truth of the statement "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" is not a matter of opinion. It's a logical fact. If a person decides it's not true, they're discarding logic altogether, and simply can't be argued with.<BR>> <BR>> Ben Zaiboc<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> _______________________________________________<BR>> extropy-chat mailing list<BR>> extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org<BR>> http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat<BR> <br /><hr />Your Photo on Bing.ca: You Could WIN on Canada Day! <a href='http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9734380' target='_new'>Submit a Photo Now! </a></body>
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