Search results

I understand what question begging is - I just don't see why it's such a stretch to think that debate can promote thought and investigation of ones own beliefs. Guess I'm just talking from personal experience and assumed others would also find it similar. Perhaps I am wrong. The reason it is...

What question does it beg? I don't really care much for whether it's post hoc or a priori - if debate encourages self introspection and examination of beliefs, then I don't think it's really that much of a problem (pending any moral considerations). I can't really see all that many negatives for...

I'm not sure many would take a debate as the whole story of truth - but at the very least, it gets people thinking and open to the idea that a particular position may have more to it than was once thought. If a debate encourages further research, investigation and general truth seeking, then I...

Hey Gary, I'm unsure whether you have watched all of the Craig v. Hitchens debate but I don't think I would have described it as Hitchens schooling Craig by any means. Even atheistic blogs from the time of the debate didn't seem to describe it like that from memory. The link you have provided...

Hi Guys, Been years since I posted here, but just thought I would mention that William Lane Craig is just about to arrive for a 3 week speaking tour in Aus. Might be of interest to some of you. For those that don't know, Craig is a Christian philosopher, theologian and apologist. He holds...

Hey all, sorry for the lack of replies. I'm reworking sections of the paper based on the feedback and issues many of you raised. I'll keep posting when I have updated it to a level I am comfortable with. Thanks for the thoughts :D

On this point I would encourage you to read through the paper I attached in this post and then object to the arguments there.

I think you are missing the point. Even if there is the potential to contribute, or a past contribution, this won't affect their current level of intrinsic value under this definition. Also, point 2 would seem to undermine your own position here. If even the mere potentiality of contribution...

Is this serious? I'm going to assume you are just trolling based on your other posts.

Well I completley disagree with you on that one Optimus. I think it is abhorent to claim that disabled people aren't worth as much as others. Leaving that aside though, in accordance with the other examples mentioned above, would you extend this reasoning onto children and the elderly? That is...

Did you read the paper? If I have successfully made a case for the pro-life position lacking any religious reasoning then how can it be that I hold this position because I am a christian? Even if I did take on board the pro-life position just because I am a christian, this does nothing to...

Why we are able to recognize that human beings have intrinsic value is not of great importance to me in this paper. All that mattered was that one was able to recognize this value and then look at whom it should be extended to. If we take your explanation for intrinsic value then I feel it...

So a while back, when abortion threads on BoS were all the rage, it motivated me to write a paper outlining my pro-life position. Unfortunately, by the time I had finished writing the paper all the threads had subsided and there was no good reason to post it. However, being that another one has...

The free will component comes in when looking at how people respond to natural disaster - both internally and also externally to those around them. This only applies if the greatest good is allowing people to live the most pleasant lives on earth. I have not defined the greatest good in this...

Essentially you are arguing for a particular application of the Weak Anthropic Principle that proposes we need not be surprised at our existence since if the universe were not fine-tuned we would not exist to observe it. I have written up a short critique of this reasoning and have attached it...

Apologies for the late replies - things have been a little hectic. I have previously quoted you on what you have claimed. Again, I am addressing this claim of yours: I have gone through and explained why I feel that this is a positive assertion (not a mere lack of belief) and have thus...

What natural explanation exists for the fine-tuning of the universe that is better than the designer hypothesis? I think you may need to read more of Craig's work honestly. I did some digging for you and came across some Q and A's that deal with complications Craig see's specifically with a...

At this point, I don’t know where to step because I regard the above as critically important when debating what a person should believe. We are essentially arguing for what justifies a belief. Without a level playing field on this issue, all other debate seems pointless in my opinion. I’m...

- You need to show why it is pathetic, not just state that it is so. - I think you are reading a bit far into this if you think that this is Craig’s way of saying that evolution didn’t happen. For Craig, even if a naturalistic form of evolution took place, this is still contingent upon there...

I apologize if you find me to be intellectually dishonest. I’m honestly not trying to be, I see a genuine difference in what an atheist or an a-theist can be claiming. I think the difference in opinion may stem from confusion between ontology and epistemology. That is, the difference between...