GENIUS FORUMS

Glad to hear it. The picture is hideous.

So what? By showing that all causes are necessarily accesory circumstances, do you therefore show that all accessory circumstances are causes? I smell a fallacy, and it smells like napalm in the morning.

<r>Kevin said:<br/> <br/> Quote:Quote:<hr>You can't "observe a non-causal phenomena". Rather, you can observe a phenomena, and you can then reason that the phenomena is without cause.<br/> <br/> Mind you, that second step is a very big step.<br/> <br/> It is a very big step (read "a very silly step"...

The flatness of the earth was never observed in nature. The first ship to sail around the world refuted the flat earth hypothesis. The flat earth was hypothesized, but never observed. Non-causal processes were hypothesized, and now have been observed.

The existence of non-causal phenomena has been observed in Nature. This empirically verifies that phenomena without cause do exist. Your attempt at confusing the issue by introducing historical irrelevancies will not help you escape the validity of this syllogism: 1. If non-causal phenomena are obse...

<t>Quote:Quote:<hr>You haven't really said anything here. All you have done is repeat the standard dogma.<hr>Yeah, the 'standard dogma' that shows your argument to be fallacious. I'll give you a clue. No one is ever going to 'say anything' as long as you shut your eyes and plug your ears whenever so...

<t>I have now read all nine 'chapters' of the NPU affair. Although David did bring a certain amount of abuse on himself with his typical ridiculous remarks about women, I will agree that overall, the worst of the behavior came from NPU members. It is not inaccurate to describe the tone as 'hysterica...

<t>And what is funny about that, David? Are you perhaps thinking that I am misunderstanding Socrates in that he would consider those things I see as universal principles as nothing more than delusions and therefore tear them apart with the same zest he reserved for other follies? Oh yes, I've consid...

<r>Interesting comments. Such objections are among those which contribute to the fact that despite my position in the UPS, I no longer actively refer to myself as 'pantheist.' Like David, I continue to espouse something that could easily be called 'pantheism' in practice, but have gradually become d...

Jimhaz:

How are we moving 'beyond yin and yang?' They are representative of the universal dialectic encoutered in every relative thing. The male/female dichotomy is one expression of this all-encompassing yin/yang idea. It is a universal principle. How will we 'move beyond' it?

<t>Oops, I missed this one:<br/> <br/> Quote:Quote:<hr>(c) Are you a fan of the "Tao of Physics?Dancing WuLu Masters" school of thought and believe that the quantum realm, as currently described by science, has some sort of connection to Eastern mysticism?<hr>Not really. Most such efforts require th...

<t>Quote:a) What exactly is meant by "non-determinism" in quantum mechanics? Does it mean that particles pop into existnce without any cause whatsoever? Or does it mean that they are indeed causally created, but not by the sorts of processes we are familiar with in the everyday world (and thus makes...

<t>QRS actively espouse pantheism, although I have never heard them use the term explicitly. Essentially, pantheism is the idea that Nature is equivalent to the theological principle of God. Metaphysically, it replaces supernaturalism with naturalism, and is generally not ultimately dualistic. God b...

<t>Quote:Quote:<hr>It can falsify us in our own motives.<hr>So can most versions of Buddhism, which is clearly the chief inspiration behind QRS worldview. It is my belief that Buddhism is somewhat dangerous in this sense. Some insightful students, like Thomas, have the wherwithal to interpret Buddhi...

<t>Jimhaz -<br/> <br/> Well, in the sense that QRS 'hurt people' by making them examine themselves and their relationships, we can hardly fault them, lest we be like the ignorant mob who demanded Socrates' death for similar reasons. If that was all they did, I really couldn't object. Unfortunately, ...

<t>For the record, I'm only a short way into chapter two, and I'm ready to fully agree with whoever pointed out that Andrew Beckwith seems to have no business in any an 'elite' group. The man is not particularly bright by any standards, much less those of intellectual elitism. What he is doing there...

<t>Hmm. You state that you are "99.999% certain" that you will never be persuaded that particles are uncaused. Forgive me, but it sounds very much like you've already made up your mind. If that is the case, what possible use are facts? I fail to see how study could accomplish anything.<br/> <br/> If...

<t>I agree that Bird went a bit far. Still, she has a point in that if QRS misogyny were widely accepted, other individuals would act on it. I don't get the sense that QRS themselves would take any direct action to harm women even if they had the power, but someone else who adopted their views very ...

<t>Well, there are exceptions to every generalization, of course.<br/> <br/> As for QRS integrity, it is actually pretty decent as far as board operations are concerned. I also have never had a post deleted or a threat of banning made, despite referring to David as a "kook" on one occassion, as well...

<t>Jimhaz said of QRS:<br/> <br/> Quote:Quote:<hr>Much of the respect that I have for them relates to their non-attachment.<hr>What non-attachment? The only evidence that I personally have seen of non-attachment has been in Dan, and only to a certain extent. The others, and particularly David, seem ...

<t>For what it's worth, high-IQ societies are pretty much rubbish across the board. Despite being well-qualified, I've never bothered to apply for one. I would likely not respond to an invitation from one. For the most part, It is a bunch of people who imagine themselves to be inherently superior ba...

<t>That's everyone's reaction to quantum mechanics when they begin to understand its implications. "it can't be," they say as a chorus. "It just ain't so," they assert. But it is so. The fact that it is so when it seems so much like it shouldn't is why even the most distinguished scientists maintain...

<t>African and Australian peoples have shamanic traditions which exist for no other purpose than communing with "ultimate reality." For you to suggest that entire races of people have no interest in 'enlightenment' because they do not visit this site is beyond absurd. It is both ethnocentric and ego...

<t>Because they aren't. Sorry, but they just aren't. If that throws a bag of shit onto your worldview's doorstep, blame quantum mechanics, not the messenger. Blame reality for fiercely resisting every attempt to corner it. It would have been a lot easier and more sensible if virtual particle creatio...

<t>You've shown no such thing, David. All you have actually shown is your willingness to conflate accessory circumstances with genuine causality. In this attempt to re-define the concept of causality to support your position, you are guilty of intellectual dishonesty. In addition, your conflation of...