Atheism is a or is a product of mental illness...

Atheism is a or is a product of mental illness...

  • Yes

    Votes: 12 17.1%
  • No

    Votes: 58 82.9%

  • Total voters
    70
Quote from OPTIONAL777:

Let us review those distinctions. Living organisms or systems remain functional only by continual change, whereas mechanisms remain functional only if they do not change, except as programmed. (Note that changes in natural systems can progress in only one direction, as they cannot undo their aging, while machines can run, in principle at least, both forward and backwards.) Living organisms are autopoietic and autonomous -- that is, self-produced and self-ruled. Mechanisms, on the other hand, are allopoietic and allonomous -- other-produced and other-ruled. The `others' are humans, or human-programmed robots, which make other robots. A robot making itself by its own rules is a logical impossibility.

http://www.ratical.org/LifeWeb/Erthdnce/chapter15.html

You've just described a type of neural network...

Wait... do you even know what a neural network is?
 
Quote from OPTIONAL777:

I can go watch Oprah and she will recommend books to read...

LOL!!! LOL!!! LOL!!!

Look, if you can't explain it on your own, you don't own it...

If you want to make an argument and cite others, make footnotes and references, fine.

But to just say "Go read this book" means you don't actually grasp and own the concepts...

I could care less if some dude has a 100 degrees in various disciplines, it means nothing to me at all...

If he can make an argument and defend it on his own by simple explanations, he has my respect.

If not, then he doesn't have my respect...

I'm not going to type out to you every point he makes.

You do not believe what I said and I am giving you a source.

Since you're choosing not to accept nor verify my claims, then I guess this is the end of this discussion.
 
Quote from Mike805:

I'm not going to type out to you every point he makes.

You do not believe what I said and I am giving you a source.

Since you're choosing not to accept nor verify my claims, then I guess this is the end of this discussion.
Mike, the discussion actually ended a while ago, the moment he released his inner troll.
 
I have no need to verify or reject your claims.

You claims are useless to me.

They may be very useful to you.

Let me ask you a question:

Are you qualified to debate or write a peer review of this author (you want people to read)?

If you are, then you don't need to refer to read a book, you can make your own case, cite sources, make footnotes, etc.

If you can't do that, if you are not on the author's level, then I can understand why you just say "read this guy."

Others around here do that, because they don't own or grasp what they are actually talking about.

I am not on a scientific level of scientists, but that doesn't mean I can't critique their level of common sense or their essential point of view.

I have noticed a great trend in the atheistic community that people will fawn over scientists the exact same way the theists fawn over religious experts and leaders.

Both just indicate that the fawners don't own what they claim to believe...

Quote from Mike805:

I'm not going to type out to you every point he makes.

You do not believe what I said and I am giving you a source.

Since you're choosing not to accept nor verify my claims, then I guess this is the end of this discussion.
 
Quote from Mike805:

Here is where things get interesting - particularly for me because you hit upon my long time field of study - Electrical Engineering. I did quite a bit of graduate work in machine learning algos, neural networks, AI etc.

So to answer your question, YES human thought is an ORGANIC process. Purely driven by electrochemical reactions and logically replicable by any sophisticated computer.

In fact, all of our experiences with the external environment can be boiled down to electrochemical reactions. Thoughts are readable to a certain extent using MRI-like techniques. Thought decode is a work in progress.

Honestly, I wish I was better at writing out what I intend to communicate, but, the short answer is that the "soul" is a human construct. All the things you mention have been explained in the last 10 years or so by most of the AI/Biomedical Engineering community. In fact, one of my professors wrote a book that will be interesting to you:
http://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Chip-Visions-Society-Science/dp/0609805673

The only fair game left so to speak is Quantum Mechanics where we are still unaware of the real mechanisms governing the strong/weak nuclear force. This is where some scientists claim a "God" exists, but, this is a metaphorical God that represents a lack of knowledge rather than an explanation of the unknown.


I’m not discounting what you’re saying - I don’t know enough about it and I have not read the reference you listed. However, from what I grasp, the modeling you are referring to has to do with interacting dummy variables to create a gray spectrum of human behavior (where before only black or white existed). Although replication of human behavior is possible (and probable as it becomes a game of factorials) I don’t believe the mind, body and soul are one object – what I imagine Kosko will eventual state, if he hasn’t already.
 
Oh yes, the vast majority of ET members are always right...

LOL!!! LOL!!! LOL!!!

:D :D :D

Quote from Cutten:

See, this poll is so dumb that even the vast majority of us ET members can see that it's wrong.
 
Quote from Thunderdog:

Then why are theists regularly engaged in false attribution or the quoting out of context those people who clearly do not share their views? What does that make them?

you tell me why my quote was out of context.

How did the rest of the quote negate the point I was making.

Stu is clearly a troll. And now your statement is bullshit if you are applying it to me.

I have provided quotes from nobel prize winners saying the universe looks designed.

here is a clear one from leonard susskind one of the founders of string theory.
-----
Question: If we do not accept the landscape idea are we stuck with intelligent design?

Answer: I doubt that physicists will see it that way. If, for some unforeseen reason, the landscape turns out to be inconsistent - maybe for mathematical reasons, or because it disagrees with observation - I am pretty sure that physicists will go on searching for natural explanations of the world. But I have to say that if that happens, as things stand now we will be in a very awkward position. Without any explanation of nature’s fine-tunings we will be hard pressed to answer the ID critics. One might argue that the hope that a mathematically unique solution will emerge is as faith-based as ID.
===

do you see that quote.

If we do not have an almost infinite universes -

Without any explanation of nature’s fine-tunings we will be hard pressed to answer the ID critics. One might argue that the hope that a mathematically unique solution will emerge is as faith-based as ID.

that is just one of the many quotes I have provided from leading scientists.
 
Quote from jem:

Stephen Hawking has said as long as the Universe had a beginning then you could suppose it had a creator.




How did the rest of his quote negate that point thunder dope.

Does it not say you could suppose a creator. Which was my point.

I did not say you have to believe there is a Creator... only that a Creator is one of the reasonable explanations.

Right now - it looks to many scientists the Universe did or at least could have begun at the big bang. So if it did you could suppose a Creator.

The rest of the quote stand for the fact that if the Universe just is - than you really have no need to suppose a Creator.

Which is not inconsistent at all with the points I have been making. I have never said we have proof the universe was created. The rest of the quote you provided from Hawking did not in any way counter the points I was making.

If you comments were not directed at me - I take back my thunder dope comment.
 
Quote from marketsurfer:

atheism is a belief construct very similar to true religious fanatics.

neither is a "mental illness", however they are quite similar.

Belief is a choice, atheism is a choice regardless of stu etc word games.

a creation infers a creator--- who or what this is, is the proper question.

regards, surf
You say atheism, which by any definition must mean non belief, is a belief! That's word games for you.


Do you suppose people choose to be born white or black? What you say suggests they do. Someone could choose to do a Michael Jackson on themselves and choose to be white?

In the same manner everyone is born atheist. They have to either be brainwashed into or choose to become theist.
 
Back
Top