Posts by swiftcobra15

Arthur Anderson49 said:... in the spirit of atheism, skepticism, and agnosticism.

That defender would essentially need to be ecumenical—someone who doesn't favor one of those three "faiths" over the others.

Are you picturing these as three separate sects? 😕

First off, I am a skeptic by methodology (*De omnibus dubitandum est*).

Then, as a direct consequence, I am an agnostic (*Ignoramus et ignorabimus*),

and finally, stemming from both of those, I am an atheist (though I’ve already explained what that means to me).

In my view, only atheists can engage in an unbiased discussion about "God" or "gods." 😉

I’m a big fan of Swiss chard, San Francisco, swimming, deep conversations, pinball, haiku, and even mushrooms...
Liking something is a positive—and quite often possessive—connection to a person or an object.

Love, on the other hand, is a relationship with the entire world, built on total devotion and unconditional acceptance.
It can be centered on one specific person or thing without shutting out everything else, but we shouldn't mistake it for mere infatuation or simple passion.

Taylor Campbell4 said:Secondly, if an atheist doesn't belong to any group, where would I fit in if I wanted everything to be logically consistent?

Ultimately, only you get to make that call.

I don't see how anyone else could provide you with an answer to that.

I truly believe that being human means having the freedom to define ourselves.
The most basic level of that freedom is the right to self-determination.
So, just be who you are and don't be afraid to own it.

lonegardener said:The whole thing with Saddam Hussein feels less like a legal debate now and more like pure propaganda. He was one man, but yesterday, 150 people lost their lives in a single strike in Baghdad. If anyone wants to obsess over his trial, they should start by thinking about those 150 souls instead...

He represents one oppressive regime that was ultimately toppled by another equally repressive one.
And honestly, looking at Iraq right now, the death toll is far higher than it ever was during Saddam Hussein's era.
It just feels like an endless cycle of violence.

The Iraqi people have lost everything. The Americans got cheap oil, while everything else has turned into a total farce.

The title is actually a bit off. It really should read:

The more intelligent ones DO NOT eat meat.😉

Taylor Campbell4 said:God is God; saying He doesn't exist feels absurd, though I don't necessarily mean a specific persona with a beard or anything. To be honest, I'm not quite capable of mounting a rigorous intellectual defense for His existence myself. When I say "I" can't defend it, I don't mean it's impossible for someone else to do so.

No worries at all! 😉 I have no intention of stripping anyone of their God.
It wouldn't even cross my mind to deny the existence of God as a core part of your own consciousness.
In fact, those "personal" deities can be quite endearing to me,
but organized versions—like the Christian God or the Islamic God—can feel a bit silly to me.

Taylor Campbell4 said:I don't understand God through any dogma, but rather through my own experience, however thin that might be. My personal experience, on an intellectual, logically speaking, purely level, clashes with both modern physical discoveries and various spiritual teachings.

I believe only atheists (those without an affiliation) can discuss God or gods without bias.

And of course, spiritual experiences are inherently private and incommunicable. 🙂

Aleksandr_V_Fedotov said:Atheists are part of this world too!

I consider myself an atheist, which to me means being unaligned. I simply can't subscribe to Christian, Muslim, or unknown concepts of God, because none of those doctrines hold up under any real intellectual scrutiny.
For me, atheism is always specific: it’s a rejection of particular, defined deities.
It doesn't make sense for me to claim atheism against some random deity "X" that I haven't even heard of.

I don't belong to any specific group of atheists or follow any kind of atheist "faith" or ideology.
I have no interest in being lumped into a collective.
Because of that, I find any questions directed at "atheists" as a whole to be completely irrelevant to my experience.

wiredmarlin20 said:If qualified professionals determine that an individual is no longer capable of making their own decisions, ...

Who exactly counts as "qualified professionals," and what specific process is used to make that determination?

Hunger strikes seem to be becoming quite a trend lately.

We've already seen several instances where defendants have used this tactic as a tool in their legal battles.

I’d ask that we refrain from commenting on specific individuals and instead discuss this as a general principle.

Is it ethically sound to force-feed a defendant once doctors determine that their refusal to eat is life-threatening?

I firmly believe that a defendant absolutely has the (moral) right to refuse food.
The real question is simply where the limits of that right should lie.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061206/..._crimes_serbia

http://www.voanews.com/american/arch...03-10-voa7.cfm
http://www.nytimes.com/Html/2003/11/2....asp?r=sss&c=7

http://www.wsj.com/laws/2986-2.asp

funky Daemon said:and I’d argue: why shouldn't sacrifice and discipline be core components of self-fulfillment?

because they absolutely are... 😁

The word for practice comes from the ancient Greek term askesis, which is where we get "ascetic"—essentially, those who dedicate themselves to disciplined training.

I suppose there's a certain satisfaction to be found in that kind of rigor. 😁

Of course, some people might enjoy pain for its own sake, but I've never been one of them. 😉

funky Daemon said:and while you're honing your talent, you're also practicing...
so it isn't a choice between talent or practice, but rather talent and practice working together...

But WHERE IS THE POINT? 😕

As Apement so beautifully pointed out, if you aren't chasing success, you can't really fail.😉

Adam Ross4 said:But why wouldn't someone make sacrifices just to hone their talent? 😁
Why limit it to just "being better"...

Adam Ross4 said:Isn't practice essentially just honing one's talents? 😁

If we view practice as merely a tool to reach some end goal, then I simply can't get behind that.
To me, practicing a talent is about finding joy in it—it's pure self-expression. 😉

lonegardener said:What exactly does TS stand for?

Topic Starter 😉

lonegardener said:Are you actually serious about that? 🙂

Do you really think Kramnik feels any sense of joy seeing Topalov share that same passion for chess (or vice versa)? Or does he truly celebrate Anja Janičín's medals?

Success isn't even a topic of conversation over at TS.

It all comes down to whether you're driven by raw talent or sheer practice—and motivation is everything there.
If my main goal is simply to beat everyone else (which is just a polite way of saying "being better"), then I’ll grind through the training and make whatever sacrifices are necessary to reach that peak.

But if I'm looking for personal fulfillment rather than just a scoreboard victory, I'll nurture my talents without feeling like I have to break myself through endless drills (Lord help me, I'm just an ordinary American! 😁), choosing instead to find joy in the process itself.

If someone is naturally gifted at music or poetry, why would they kill themselves practicing just to become a champion skier or a pro tennis player? 👎

To me, that seems completely unhealthy.

mistyfox812 said:

"I once played around with scholasticism..."

"a human being is a living creature possessing human DNA" ...

"Therefore, human life begins at conception."

Your take on Scholasticism is solid, but I want to pose a challenge:

At what exact moment does a living organism with human DNA actually become a person?

The question "When does life begin?" is, frankly, a bit nonsensical.

Harold Turner2 said:... instead of wasting money on his upkeep, it would be better used feeding starving children in Africa.🙂

I wonder how many of those "starving children" could have been fed with the billions of dollars wasted on the war in Iraq?

And how many tens of thousands of lives might have been saved if that war had never happened at all?

Let’s assume for a moment that Saddam Hussein has been proven guilty of countless atrocities and truly deserves the harsest penalty possible.

What does the Iraqi people actually gain from seeing Saddam Hussein hanged?

William Gonzalez3 said:
Can a young person even focus on tending their own garden? Or is it inevitable that we all feel this burning need to change the entire world first, only turning our attention to the soil once we've failed at fixing everything else—usually somewhere around age 50?
I guess I'll just wait and see how my own journey unfolds.

The best way to improve the world is actually by tending to your own backyard.
You really should start as early as possible. For me, hitting fifty felt a little bit too late.

Swiftcobra15 said:You read that book...

I read it quite a long time ago and I can't seem to track it down now—I might have lent it to a friend. To be honest, I've gone through so many books since then that the details tend to blur together.

In my view, fear is the most common, and often the most overwhelming, emotion we experience.

I find myself fearing both real threats and things I've simply imagined.

When someone has been hurt, their primary instinct is usually the fear that the pain will happen all over again.
We naturally start seeing the person who hurt us—whether they meant to or not—as a potential threat or an enemy.

A lot of people worry that forgiving someone is a sign of weakness.

If you're struggling with that choice, it just means you aren't truly ready to forgive yet.

People who lack the strength to seek justice often lack the capacity to forgive even more.
They tend to withdraw and harbor bitterness, which ultimately destroys them from within.

Only those with the fortitude to confront an injustice can—though they aren't required to—possess the strength to truly forgive.

True forgiveness is reserved for the strongest among us, those who aren't afraid:
fear and forgiveness simply cannot coexist.

Galatea said:Forgiveness isn't a sign of weakness; it’s an act of strength. It isn't foolishness either—it's wisdom. At its core, forgiveness is pure nobility.

Unlike simply suppressing our feelings, using altruism, sublimation, and even humor are three of the most mature and effective psychological defense mechanisms that allow true forgiveness to take place.

Let’s be honest: forgiveness isn't easy, and it certainly isn't simple enough to be boiled down to a few basic rules.

Generally speaking, there are three ways a person who causes harm relates to the person who might forgive them.

a) If the person causing the harm holds absolute power over you, it is incredibly difficult to even imagine the possibility of forgiving them.
In those cases, I tend to run. I try to avoid the hurt altogether, and if I do get wounded, I find myself dreaming of getting even.

b) When we are on equal footing—socially or otherwise—there is a mutual possibility for us to hurt one another or to be hurt.

In this scenario, any path is on the table: we can walk away, seek revenge, or choose to forgive.

Some people might think this is the most common situation (and that we can just ignore options A and C to focus only on B), but that isn't really the case.
I believe instances of social inequality are much more significant, and the confusion often stems from blurring the lines between being in a position of inferiority or superiority.

c) If I hold the upper hand over someone who hurts me, forgiveness becomes the only logical solution that presents itself. We tend to lash out at those we actually fear or perceive as dangerous and dominant.

Sadly, many people mix up scenarios A and C, mistakenly seeking revenge against those "weaker" than them for wounds inflicted by those in power.

Since forgiveness is such a complex journey, I highly recommend a wonderful book:

Jean Monbourquette:
HOW TO FORGIVE

ISBN: 953-97691-8-3
Category: Popular Psychology
Published: 2002
Publisher: Franciscan Provincial Library
Library:
page count: 207
Binding: Paperback
Format: 4.7 x 8 inches

In this work, the author first explores the very nature of what it means to forgive. He then walks through twelve distinct stages required to reach true forgiveness for both ourselves and others.

http://www.knjizara-ljevak.com/knjig...=953-97691-8-3