I'm a believer in God. Can you please help me fix it? [Trollville]

Paisley
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I'm a believer in God. Can you please help me fix it? [Trollville]

magilum
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Paisley wrote:magilum

Paisley wrote:

magilum wrote:
You're not agreeing, you're just repeating. I've already expanded on why your comparison fails to bring your arguments up to the same level as probabalistic and inductive conclusions. Since you've chosen the route of feigning vindication through impertinent one-liners, I'm not going to repeat myself. If someone wants to see you fail again, they can re-read our exchange.

And you have failed to justify the belief in inductive reasoning which does not entail induction itself.

And you're stealing the concept by having any such expectation. You can either hold that an expectation is valid for the sake of this, and virtually every logical discussion thus far, or you can advocate whatever your nebulous QM abortion of a theory is, and do so without relying on induction or probability.


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 I AM GOD AS YOU


 I AM GOD AS YOU wrote:
"Paisley , you are a dedicated trouble maker, but you are god, and fuck you too !  .... and thanks .... (kisses)  

P asks, "Is this your dogma?"  ////////   
______________________________________

Call what you will, but I was just saying thanks for bringing the "Sword" of debate. Gets intense, and it need be, as killing god of abe is important work, as the Christ is in me. Big bad atheist J was a tough courageous indignant bastard ! ....  J was a "Fuck You" guy too ! 

Science is our best effort to understanding Gawed, and uses all our inherent, innate thought processes.

"Loosing the ego", the buddhists say, is the realization that there is no "self". Everything is connected to the "whole" cosmos, and or god. Every particle and energy field is god. This realization does alot to calm fear and helps create an inner peace of "Oneness". In this sense we, energy/matter, are the eternal that is recycling (occam's reincarnation). 

The god of abe concept of separation, suggesting a master, is dogmatic and destructive. I call it the "devil" within ..... "Atheist" jesus (a buddha) boldly said this is the kingdom / heaven NOW .....  you blind superstitious hypocrites ! We are One with the cosmos (father) ..... Chill out ! Obey the "Golden Rule" ...... "Ye are gods" ...

The videos I previously posted are really worth a review. I found them entertaining and fun.  What is consciousness ? 

"Holographic paradigm" -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_paradigm


"Gariaev reports as of 2007 that this work in Russia is being actively suppressed." Is that really true, and why ?


Re-post - "Loosing the ego",  ONENESS AND THE HOLOGRAPHIC PARADIGM,   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB7-uySXSCk


New , "The Catalyst"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHzzzjFZSRA


New ,  "the small man within the small man" , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLiA00wlU2M


A collection - “Holographic Universe”   http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Holographic+Universe&search_type=

Any hoot, thanks again Paisley for bringing the "Sword" , and all you swordsmen .....    
 


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Paisley wrote:Eloise

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
You've quoted a gem there from Wiki, Paisley, my respect goes out to the author of: "If all properties are relational, then what can be said of the objects they relate?" - this is precisely what I am trying to get across, we really need to start taking this important little nugget out of its box more often, this is about what we are.

This is what I was getting at.

It would help if you included some information here as to how you were getting at this, cause it isn't apparent to me in any way.

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Now as to your question RQM forbids an external observer, sure, but it does not forbid nay it directly describes adiabatic participation. That is to say, you can observe a state in which you are not thermodynamically involved. If you can, God can, in fact God only needs to observe exactly as humans would to be God with all the necessary entailing qualities. (<--- this is called getting ahead of myself, I can see everyone scratching their heads and wondering what I am talking about)

Merriam-Webter defines "adiabatic" as follows:.

Quote:
adaibatic : occurring without loss or gain of heat <adiabatic expansion of a gas> (source: Merriam-Webster Online Dicitionary)

In light of this definition, what exactly do you mean by "adiabatic participation?" In other words, who or what is in adiabatic participation?

As I said, here I got ahead of myself in saying all this. First I should really drive home the point made above - what can be said of the objects to which they [relational states] relate.

What can be said is that they are not objects, basically. They too are relational states. This strikes the heart of how we define our position as observers of these states, no observer is definable independently of it's observation, and yes RQM extends contiguously to relative sized objects like human beings. Our anthropomorphic concept is false in RQM because it is defined independently. Thus you cannot frame God in this concept, you cannot even accurately frame yourself in it. Such a human being does not exist. What exists is a relational 'level' of interaction which represents human-world, and that alone defines what we humans have believed and acted as though we are.

 

Quote:

Can the transcendent God (the theistic aspect of panentheism) observe all relative states simultaneously in which he (God) is not "thermodynamically invovled" (I assume that this means there is no heat exchange between the Observer and the system)?

If God is not thermodynamically involved, then in what sense is God immanent (the pantheistic aspect of panentheism)?

You have assumed correctly that adiabatic means thermodynamically isolated. And yes a God can observed all relative states simultaneously that it is not thermodynamically involved in. Any observer can, all observers do. But we need to stop right there and rewind because there is way too much missing from my argument, first I need to discuss how thermodynamic involvement is related to information.

Firstly, an adiabatic observer should be one that has no information,  information exchange is substantially the same as heat exchange.  Now we, as we generally define ourselves, are isolated from 'alternate' relational states. That is to say, using a classic analogy we can see the cat not dead, and in having done so we do not see it dead -that information is lost (destroyed per CI).

Now this is a poor definition of ourselves first of all. This state in which we do not exchange information with the dead cat state is not absolute, no such human being would actually exist were we to find the relational interpretation to be a complete description. Again what exists is a relational 'level' on which the interaction of a live cat and a human being exchanging information about those states applies. This information is exchanged relative where you slice up the system of observer-observation, it is not absolute, it is only where you sliced it. The point where information is exchanged, the slice, is arbitrary, move the slice and you'll have a different information exchange, a different scenario, say, a dead cat. Now the question is not whether or not you can observe from the alternate slice, but which slice actually defines you.

 

Quote:

Paisley wrote:
If I recall my answer was something along the lines of which is heavier, 9 litres of water or the 500g bucket that holds it, your question is based on an underestimation.

I assume the bucket (500 g + 9000 g).

You are missing the point, which is the difference between the 500g of plastic and the 9 litres of water.  The bucket is not defined by the water and it does not need to be defined by the water in order to sufficiently contain the water.

Quote:

Is the transcendent God the "bucket" in this scenario?

No, the bucket is not the transcendent God, when you get down to it the bucket represents quite ordinary observation.

 

 

Paisley wrote:
Eloise wrote:
To know the state the universe is in only in retrospect is an anthropomorphic misapprehension, RQM may forbid that there is any meaning to describing a state of t entire universe but it does not discount a law underlying relative observations of the universe being known.

So where is the transcendent aspect of God in all of this?

It's there, but it is not apparent if you misapprehend what form one should expect it take and yet be beyond the range of the "ordinary human experience" which is entailed in the definition of transcendence.

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pauljohntheskeptic
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Paisley

Paisley wrote:

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:

I saw a bumper sticker today that applies to this thread.

"The endlessness justifies the meaninglessness"

My attributed wordview of ultimate meaninglessness now has been justified.

This begs the question: "Why are you continuing to participate in this thread?"

  That should be obvious.

 

 

____________________________________________________________
"I guess it's time to ask if you live under high voltage power transmission lines which have been shown to cause stimulation of the fantasy centers of the brain due to electromagnetic waves?" - Me

"God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, - it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks please. Cash and in small bills." - Robert A Heinlein.


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Paisley wrote:Eloise

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
I do not believe that an individual will come to know the reality of universal love (God) through a logical proof. I subscribe to gnosticism/mysticism. As such, I believe that "proof" will only come through experiential knowledge which entails faith.

My apologies Paisley, I have misread you, your post was an attack on reason; and in that case I will say I thoroughly and totally disagree with it. I am of the mind that if any such God exists whom would refuse to make himself known through reason, and mind that I don't believe that is the case, then that God is no "God" it is a demi-god of an arbitrary physical phenomenon, a pantheon ensemble concept.

It's not an attack on reason.

Excuse me? I could have sworn you just said it was . You said "I do not believe that an individual will come to know the reality of universal love (God) through a logical proof."  Does this not unashamedly imply that reason is a totally inadequate and pointless practice?

Quote:

Faith and belief must be upheld by reason in order to come to a knowledge of truth - i.e. "gnosis." But this knowledge is not the knowledge of a logical proof or of some kind of God-concept or theological system. The gnosis is experiential knowledge that entails a change in perception, a change in consciousness.

A change in consciousness which entails no computable mechanism? You can NEVER see or comprehend logically why such a change would occur?

Now I can absolutely respect the notion that it is not necessary to obtain a logical comprehension of the mechanism in order to experience it, but that is a different thing to there not being one, or the statement that one is impossible to derive. I can only refuse to believe in a god that makes himself the exclusive property of the uneducated and the easily lead, such is not a god to me and certainly not a god of Love in any case. 

 

 

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Fortunately I am also quite confident, as I have said many times, that a God which is consistent with the western biblical descriptions 'love' and 'light' and 'all' is knowable through purely logical proof, I have no need of taking anyone's word that "God" is an anthropical symbol for everything that doesn't bear good sense and integrity.

Okay. Do you have this "purely logical proof?" If so, please share it with us.

I will be frank, here. Until we all come to realise all the basic precepts of existence that we have misapprehended, there is no point to showing any logical proof. We are taking illusions and relics of experience for granted to be absolutes, that is how we live and in that framework one would be foolish to try and even set up the logic let alone follow it.

Thankyou for asking but I have decided to follow my own instincts on this one. One must first diminish all dependence on false precepts and repeal attachment to relics and illusions. There is a logical process that makes it possible to understand these things and that should probably come first.

 

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "surrendering your only known identity." But I believe that the aspirant must be willing to let go of the ego in order to find God (love).

I too believe in release from attachment to preserving egotistical structure as the way to enlightenment, but to demand or force it from someone is futile and ugly.

Who is demanding it or forcing it? I'm simply stating what I believe as are you.

I mean by this that you are insisting it must be done. That one must wield their faith unknowing or else be damned to never knowing. It sounds like it has been ripped straight from an evangelical Christian "How to convert your mark" textbook. Yuech!  You at least understand that faith is already underlying a persons ego, so I ask you to take a step back from there and consider what that means to the person you are asking to renounce it. It should be obvious that an explanation is much more fairly and reasonably in order than an ultimatum.

 

Quote:

Eloise wrote:
Letting go of fear is highly unlikely to be the difference between an atheist and a theist, but in a sense I agree with what you are saying.

So you don't think that letting go of the ego will require an act of faith? Especially when the ego is the "most unlikely, innocent looking and personally endeared suspect of all" (your words).

Yes it will require an act of faith, but it need not be taken in ignorance of the reality of faith. In ignorance the ego is the unlikely innocent looking and personally endeared suspect, one does not have to renounce the integrity of the ego in ignorance.

 

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  WOW, I love it when

  WOW, I love it when Eloise gets onry ! 

  .... and hey mr. P , "I love you more"  ..... you devil !    


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Paisley wrote:Magus

Paisley wrote:

Magus wrote:
Paisley wrote:
No, you can't. You can only delay your realization of this truth.

Thank you.  My life and your life have no effect of the outcome and are therefore meaningless to it. 

P.S. Sorry for the delay.

 

 

Quote:
"Delay does not matter in eternity, but it is tragic in time." (source: ACIM)

So you agree that your worldview doesn't escape what you claim makes materialism absurd?

Under your worldview we have nothing to do with the outcome or "ultimate purpose" so we are in fact meaningless to it. 

Sounds made up...
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Magus wrote:Paisley

Magus wrote:

Paisley wrote:

Magus wrote:
Paisley wrote:
No, you can't. You can only delay your realization of this truth.

Thank you.  My life and your life have no effect of the outcome and are therefore meaningless to it. 

P.S. Sorry for the delay.

Quote:
"Delay does not matter in eternity, but it is tragic in time." (source: ACIM)

So you agree that your worldview doesn't escape what you claim makes materialism absurd?

Under your worldview we have nothing to do with the outcome or "ultimate purpose" so we are in fact meaningless to it. 

Also note we have no idea what "ultimate purpose" means, aside from the implication so far that a being that outlives us will remember us. But, as you say, to what end? And what makes that being's existence meaningful? And what is meaning in this context?

There must be a subject for which different prospects present different consequences for something to be meaningful, and I reiterate that a pantheistic god wouldn't have the luxury of comparison. It would be all things; all prospects would be equal. Existence would be moot.


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pauljohntheskeptic

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
After 620 some posts it was bound to happen sometime, where I find partial agreement with one of your positions. Most atheists are ex-believers and curse occasionally using terms such as hell, god damn, or damn. This is residual indoctrination left over as floating strands of unconnected data in the mind. In most cases it is said in a way to disrespect the theist or theism in general.

Why do atheists feel the need to be disrespectful?

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
I recommend against it as it is part of ultimate meaninglessness. It shows the power of the ultimate fantasy that has deluded people for thousands of years.  This is not much different than when you accidently drift into reality from your deluded concepts. As god and terms associated with it are imaginary constructs of the human mind  it  serves little purpose other than to validate the position of the deluded theist.  Instead of utilizing the term "God" or "hell" one should substitute  words that  do not validate the position of  the theist's fantasy. In the above case a proper method would have been to say to you "Oh my fucking evolution hating friend", "Oh my fucking word", or "WTF."

The theist position will be validated the next time an atheist stubs his little toe on a coffee table.

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
Empirical evidence suggests otherwise than your statement, "It's the mystical insight that love constitutes ultimate reality." In observation of humankind greed and lust appear to be the ultimate reality not love. All of recorded history is the evidence. The motto of humans based on this evidence appears to be "He who dies with the most wins." Perhaps it fits your quote above but the love is for power and control not for another. So rewrite your quote as follows: "There is no other principle that rules where greed is not. Greed is a law without an opposite. Its wholeness is the power holding everything as one."

 

James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?

James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Without works therefore you are dead according to  your source of inspiration the NT.

"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phillipians 2:12-13

 

The dialectical process can either be viewed as a power struggle or a healing process. The choice is yours.

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
Since you seem to have a thing for the NT, consider James: Since you seem to have a thing for the NT, consider James:

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead


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'Pantheist,' my little toe.

'Pantheist,' my little toe.


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magilum wrote:Paisley

magilum wrote:
Paisley wrote:
And you have failed to justify the belief in inductive reasoning which does not entail induction itself.

And you're stealing the concept by having any such expectation. You can either hold that an expectation is valid for the sake of this, and virtually every logical discussion thus far, or you can advocate whatever your nebulous QM abortion of a theory is, and do so without relying on induction or probability.

I'm not saying that I never engage in induction. We all do. What I am saying is that induction is based on an assumption that deductive reasoning cannot prove.

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead


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  It's all energy matter

  It's all energy matter baby, as far I can tell.  Purpose ?  Hey what do you want !? Is consciousness something to worship ? 

BTW, Bible James was pretty cool ....  Paul pisses me off most the time ..... The bible is over rated , obviously .... but a good lesson of our embarrassing past. So what will we do now, and next ?     Go science ..... kill religion .... for heavens sakes ! 


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Paisley wrote:magilum

Paisley wrote:

magilum wrote:
Paisley wrote:
And you have failed to justify the belief in inductive reasoning which does not entail induction itself.

And you're stealing the concept by having any such expectation. You can either hold that an expectation is valid for the sake of this, and virtually every logical discussion thus far, or you can advocate whatever your nebulous QM abortion of a theory is, and do so without relying on induction or probability.

I'm not saying that I never engage in induction. We all do. What I am saying is that induction is based on an assumption that deductive reasoning cannot prove.

Which you pointed out to establish a parallel between the problem of induction and faith in a cockamamie Yahweh-lite and the museum of Paisley he'll curate when your dumb ass is deader than disco. As I've pointed out, we have the entire functional body of mutually-supporting human knowledge which risks being fundamentally false, versus the nebulous, useless, childish and unsubstantiated load of crap you're peddling because death makes you feel squishy in your drawers.


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Paisley wrote:No, you first

Paisley wrote:

No, you first gave the pretense that you agreed with it only to contradict yourself by proceeding to level an attack upon the the intuitive mind.

I haven't attacked the intuitive mind. I've attacked the idea that the intuitive mind is a source of reliable knowledge. The intuitive mind is an excellent synthesizer of information; however, any conclusions reached by the intuitive mind must pass analytic muster. That is the way in which the intuitive an the analytic work together.

Otherwise, you're just thinking shit up.

Quote:

nigelTheBold wrote:
What I disagree with is the statement that your mind is balanced. You are delusional. Period. You think God speaks to you. That's delusion.

What were you saying about misrepresentation? Please provide me with the quote in this thread in which I stated that "God speaks to me."

How do you know that God is there to maintain your experience? The only possible way to know is by direct revelation. God must speak to you for that revelation. Without revelation, you have only supposition.

I apologize. I jumped to the conclusion you based your claim of eternal existence on revelation. I withdraw the statement that God spoke to you.

Quote:

The epistemology of empiricism and its stepchild (i.e. the scientific method) is based on belief  - namely, the assumption of induction.

I suggest that you look up the "regress argument" in Wikipedia. Perhaps you'll learn something.

Yeah. I read Hume many, many years ago. I understand the problem with induction.

The problem with your argument is that science is built up with induction, but tested by deduction. Induction is powered by the intuitive mind. Deduction is powered by the analytic. Science is the balance between these two minds.

Quote:

The foundation is built on intuition (it's non-rational, not irrational). And inductive reasoning itself arises from the intuitive. 

Irrational. Non-rational. Whatever. It's still not rational.

Quote:

No, I recognize that both the intuitive and the analytical must function together. This is something which you're only capable of giving lip service to.

No. As I have stated, science wouldn't work without the intuitive mind. Induction relies on creativity. Without deduction and the analytic mind to filter out the thoughts that aren't congruent with reality, we'd just be making shit up, and blaming thunderstorms on a pissed-off God with a hammer.

Quote:

nigelTheBold wrote:
Which is fine. I don't mind personal spirituality. I think it is admirable.

This is interesting. First you lambaste me for my God-belief and spiritual practice. Now, you saying that personal spirituality is admirable! Which one is it?

No. I lambast you for claiming your belief is more rational than a worldview based on science.

Quote:


nigelTheBold wrote:
I'm glad you've finally given up the claim that your belief is rational, at least.

It's non-rational, not irrational. Everyone's worldview has some basis in the non-rational (the intuitive).

That still makes it not-rational.

And though everyone has a little not-rationality in their lives, claiming that makes them more rational is just plain... absurd.

Quote:

nigelTheBold wrote:
Science works. 

I hate to burst your bubble but atheists do not have exclusive rights to the accomplishments of science.

No bubble burst. I never claimed they did.

What I'm saying is that the scientific method is the only proven epistemology. There is no other epistemology that has worked as consistently and reliably as science. None. Not one.

Not even your (still-unstated) epistemology.

Quote:

nigelTheBold wrote:
Science has also proven that your method of determining the existence of God is bunkum. Complete and utter bullshit.

Just so I know where you stand. What is your opinion of all those who express faith in God? In specific, what is your opinion of those who express a belief in gnosticism (i.e. the belief that God can be experientially known)? 

For the gnostics, I believe they have found a path to spirituality. I believe they experience a subjective emotion that makes them feel good.

There's no way to have a single opinion of all who express faith in God. My daughter is a fundamentalist Christian, as is her mother. My wife's parents were raised quasi-Quaker, and both still have faith in God. I know and love and respect too many people who believe in God to think poorly of faith.

Each and every one of them holds their faith as a personal matter. Each one claims to have experienced God. Even though they are all Christian, they have very different views on God Himself. Their God is subjective.

To me, that's the biggest proof that God doesn't exist. Or, if He does exist, He doesn't care about us. Otherwise, there'd be some consistency in our views of God. But we don't, so the only logical, rational conclusion is that any experience of God is subjective, and not indicative of an objective reality.

"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers


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Paisley wrote:nigelTheBold

Paisley wrote:

nigelTheBold wrote:
Paisley wrote:
No, I'm saying that atheists have an absurd worldview because they view life as ultimately being without purpose and meaning.

Which you still have yet to prove.

If the universe is ultimately without purpose, then how is a congruent worldview absurd? It merely models the reality of the universe. The worldview has meaning, as it is an accurate, rational model of a purposeless universe.

I have already provided you with Merriam-Webster's definition of "absurd." I'm not going to repeat myself.

Your worldview is absurd. I will ask you to take ownership of it.

Yeah. That's what I thought. I figured you'd dodge the issue entirely.

Your worldview is subjective and delusional. I will ask you to take ownership of it.

 

See how that ends up? You're doing the whole, "Am not," "Am too," schoolyard argument. All I asked for was a little logic, an attempt to deconstruct a logical position. Instead, you once again assert your unsubstantiated thesis and call it a rebuttal.

Here's my assertion: you can't support your claim logically. You avoid all the real issues, which are: your definition of "meaning" is arbitrary. A worldview that models a universe with no ultimate meaning, itself has meaning. A rational worldview is one that is congruent with reality; yours is not. introspection has been proven to be unreliable. You have no epistemology to support your metaphysics, and so you have no framework by which to claim knowledge.

Your defence is as weak as herbal tea, and about as offensive. Cowboy up and provide something with substance, and perhaps a little logic, or I will assume your position is indefencible.

"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers


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Paisley wrote:nigelTheBold

Paisley wrote:

nigelTheBold wrote:
Still from my (possibly outdated) understanding, the problem I (and many others) have with describing this as "awareness" is probably more linguistic than theoretical. As we dont' have a theoretical model for the "awareness" of a quantum state, calling it "awareness" is misleading at best, and wrong at worst. The informational state of a quantum bit is likely completely different (though potentially related) to what we call "awareness" as a conscious being. (I say "potentially related" because I believe, though have no proof, that our minds are likely as much quantum-driven as chemoelectrical.)

This is interesting. The informational state of a qubit (probability wave or superposition) is "completely different though potentially related" to what we call "awareness." Why? Because our minds are likely to be "quantum-driven?" 

What exactly do you mean by "quantum-driven?" I trust that this has nothing to do with what we may call "conscious will"....right? 

In the '90s, a gentleman who's name escapes me did some research in evolution of electronic circuits using FPGAs. He evolved circuits to distinguish a particular frequency. In the end, his evolved circuits were significantly more efficient than a circuit designed for the same purpose. He had a problem, though; the initial FPGA circuits were not portable across devices. The evolution of the circuit took advantage of the specific variances within the FPGAs.

The process of evolution takes advantage of everything available. I believe the mere fact that information may be stored in quantum states makes it highly likely that quantum effects affect the way our brain is wired. They are part of our hardware, as it were. This has nothing to do with "conscious will." I believe "free will" is a linguistic artifact, and is meaningless (and so absurd) within discussion of consciousness.

"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers


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@magilum and nigelTheBoldYou

@magilum and nigelTheBold

You guys are amazing. I left this fray because I couldn't take the merry-go-round anymore. Do you guys take lots of vitamins or something? The exercise of revisiting the same equivocations and misrepresentations over and over wore me right out.

 

Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence


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nigelTheBold wrote:In the

nigelTheBold wrote:

In the '90s, a gentleman who's name escapes me did some research in evolution of electronic circuits using FPGAs. He evolved circuits to distinguish a particular frequency. In the end, his evolved circuits were significantly more efficient than a circuit designed for the same purpose. He had a problem, though; the initial FPGA circuits were not portable across devices. The evolution of the circuit took advantage of the specific variances within the FPGAs.

The folks at NASA had amazing results using genetic algorithms to design antennas. Check it out:

GA Antenna

Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence


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Paisley wrote: Why do

Paisley wrote:

 

Why do atheists feel the need to be disrespectful?

Why do theists? It's probably for the same reason.

 

Paisley wrote:

The theist position will be validated the next time an atheist stubs his little toe on a coffee table.

I don't own one.

 

Paisley wrote:

"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phillipians 2:12-13

Salvation from what? Your imaginary friend? When your electrical pulses cease inside your brain as far as you're concerned it's worked out as your imaginary friend dies with you. Yours not mine, I don't have an imaginary friend.

 

Paisley wrote:

 

The dialectical process can either be viewed as a power struggle or a healing process. The choice is yours.

You are the one that came here asking to be fixed or healed not me.

____________________________________________________________
"I guess it's time to ask if you live under high voltage power transmission lines which have been shown to cause stimulation of the fantasy centers of the brain due to electromagnetic waves?" - Me

"God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, - it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks please. Cash and in small bills." - Robert A Heinlein.


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nigelTheBold wrote:In the

nigelTheBold wrote:

In the '90s, a gentleman who's name escapes me did some research in evolution of electronic circuits using FPGAs. He evolved circuits to distinguish a particular frequency. In the end, his evolved circuits were significantly more efficient than a circuit designed for the same purpose. He had a problem, though; the initial FPGA circuits were not portable across devices. The evolution of the circuit took advantage of the specific variances within the FPGAs.

The process of evolution takes advantage of everything available. I believe the mere fact that information may be stored in quantum states makes it highly likely that quantum effects affect the way our brain is wired. They are part of our hardware, as it were. This has nothing to do with "conscious will." I believe "free will" is a linguistic artifact, and is meaningless (and so absurd) within discussion of consciousness.

As a R & D engineer in the computer industry for many years, I think using the terms evolution and evolved are inappropriate for the description of technological advancement. In natural evolution as you say the process takes advantage of everything available but in technological design it is limited to the knowledge available to the designer. Another circuit designer at another company may have access to additional information but this is generally not shared due to competition and company secrets. I am not personally acquainted with the name of the engineer involved in the R & D effort you referenced on FPGAs.

____________________________________________________________
"I guess it's time to ask if you live under high voltage power transmission lines which have been shown to cause stimulation of the fantasy centers of the brain due to electromagnetic waves?" - Me

"God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, - it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks please. Cash and in small bills." - Robert A Heinlein.


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HisWillness wrote:@magilum

HisWillness wrote:

@magilum and nigelTheBold

You guys are amazing. I left this fray because I couldn't take the merry-go-round anymore. Do you guys take lots of vitamins or something? The exercise of revisiting the same equivocations and misrepresentations over and over wore me right out.

 

Yes, exactly !  

Paisley's OP was:                   "I'm a believer in God.  Can you please help me fix it ?"

 

When it should have read:     

"I'm a believer in an vague, ill-defined, constantly changing, aloof, do-nothing, fucked up God.  Can you please help me fix it ?

 

The collective answer from atheists should have been condensed to:

 

Fuck off and quit wasting our time !!!


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nigelTheBold wrote:Paisley

nigelTheBold wrote:
Paisley wrote:
This is interesting. The informational state of a qubit (probability wave or superposition) is "completely different though potentially related" to what we call "awareness." Why? Because our minds are likely to be "quantum-driven?" 

What exactly do you mean by "quantum-driven?" I trust that this has nothing to do with what we may call "conscious will"....right?

The process of evolution takes advantage of everything available. I believe the mere fact that information may be stored in quantum states makes it highly likely that quantum effects affect the way our brain is wired. They are part of our hardware, as it were. This has nothing to do with "conscious will." I believe "free will" is a linguistic artifact, and is meaningless (and so absurd) within discussion of consciousness.

Evolutionary Quantum Computation (EQC) is based on the view that consciousness arises from quantum indeterminacy and that everything  is conscious (this is known as 'panpsychism'). This obsviously has implications not only for pantheism but also for panentheism.

Quote:
"But if chance is consciousness then everything in the universe is conscious, as nothing is ever totally deterministic -- everything has some element of chance to it."

"The equations of quantum theory tell us that all subjective views are in a sense "equivalent" -- but they are not equivalent to the "objective" or intersubjective universe, which is the collection of all possible subjective views, and is therefore a probability distribution rather than a definite entity. Consciousness, then, is the property that everything has when it is being considered intersubjectively instead of as an object within the fixed subjective world of some other object"

source:"Evolutionary Quantum Computaton: It's Role in the Brain, It's realization in Electronic Hardware, and Its Implications for the Panpsychic Theory of Consciousness" by Ben Goertzel

http://www.goertzel.org/dynapsyc/1997/Qc.html 

 

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead


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pauljohntheskeptic

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Why do atheists feel the need to be disrespectful?

Why do theists? It's probably for the same reason.

But you seemed to be condoning the practice.

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
Salvation from what? Your imaginary friend? When your electrical pulses cease inside your brain as far as you're concerned it's worked out as your imaginary friend dies with you. Yours not mine, I don't have an imaginary friend.

But you're the one who started to quote bible verses (apparently to argue for some kind of soteriological viewpoint).

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
Paisley wrote:
The dialectical process can either be viewed as a power struggle or a healing process. The choice is yours.

You are the one that came here asking to be fixed or healed not me.

I know. (Actually, it was more of challenge than a request.) However, you're the one who perceives "greed" as the only principle by which the world is governed. This is a rather cynical worldview.

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead


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Eloise wrote:Paisley

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
This is what I was getting at.

It would help if you included some information here as to how you were getting at this, cause it isn't apparent to me in any way.

I did. I provided an excerpt from the Wiki article which explained why RQM was a form of antirealism.

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Eloise wrote:
To know the state the universe is in only in retrospect is an anthropomorphic misapprehension, RQM may forbid that there is any meaning to describing a state of t entire universe but it does not discount a law underlying relative observations of the universe being known.

So where is the transcendent aspect of God in all of this?

It's there, but it is not apparent if you misapprehend what form one should expect it take and yet be beyond the range of the "ordinary human experience" which is entailed in the definition of transcendence.

So, is God a transcendental state of consciousness or awareness?

Eloise wrote:
What can be said is that they are not objects, basically. They too are relational states. This strikes the heart of how we define our position as observers of these states, no observer is definable independently of it's observation, and yes RQM extends contiguously to relative sized objects like human beings. Our anthropomorphic concept is false in RQM because it is defined independently. Thus you cannot frame God in this concept, you cannot even accurately frame yourself in it. Such a human being does not exist. What exists is a relational 'level' of interaction which represents human-world, and that alone defines what we humans have believed and acted as though we are.

Okay, here you say that "you cannot frame God in this concept (RQM)." But what is this that exists "a relational 'level' of interaction wich respresents human-world?" Can you substitute "subject-object" for "human-world?" Duality? Observer-observed? Is the interaction the "observing?" The unity in the duality?

Eloise wrote:
And yes a God can observed all relative states simultaneously that it is not thermodynamically involved in. Any observer can, all observers do.

Here you suggest that God can observe "all relative states simultaneously." This would qualify as a transcendent God. However, you said elsewhere that "it (the transcendent aspect of God) is not apparent if you misapprehend what form one should expect it take." You also stated elsewhere that "you cannot frame God in this concept (RQM)." So now I am confused. Which one is it?

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead


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ProzacDeathWish wrote:Yes,

ProzacDeathWish wrote:
Yes, exactly !  

Paisley's OP was:                   "I'm a believer in God.  Can you please help me fix it ?"

 

When it should have read:     

"I'm a believer in an vague, ill-defined, constantly changing, aloof, do-nothing, fucked up God.  Can you please help me fix it ?

I said that I believe that God is love.

 

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead


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ProzacDeathWish wrote:Yes,

magilum wrote:
Paisley wrote:
I'm not saying that I never engage in induction. We all do. What I am saying is that induction is based on an assumption that deductive reasoning cannot prove.

Which you pointed out to establish a parallel between the problem of induction and faith in a cockamamie Yahweh-lite and the museum of Paisley he'll curate when your dumb ass is deader than disco. As I've pointed out, we have the entire functional body of mutually-supporting human knowledge which risks being fundamentally false, versus the nebulous, useless, childish and unsubstantiated load of crap you're peddling because death makes you feel squishy in your drawers.

But I was not making an argument for the existence of God. I was simply using induction as an example to demonstrate that faith underlies rationality.

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead


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Paisley

Paisley wrote:

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Why do atheists feel the need to be disrespectful?

Why do theists? It's probably for the same reason.

But you seemed to be condoning the practice.

No, I don't. I do not use names of imaginary gods or imaginary places to curse. I suggested if someone must, they used WTF etc instead.

Paisley wrote:

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
Salvation from what? Your imaginary friend? When your electrical pulses cease inside your brain as far as you're concerned it's worked out as your imaginary friend dies with you. Yours not mine, I don't have an imaginary friend.

But you're the one who started to quote bible verses (apparently to argue for some kind of soteriological viewpoint).

Actually you used Bible quotes starting at Post #393 in response to Nigel you quoted Hebrews

Paisley wrote:

nigelTheBold wrote:
Dude, you know that hope != faith, right?

No, I didn't know that.

"

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen

." Hebrews 11:1

That therefore made it justifiable to show your faith according to one of the writers of a book you had quoted at least 6 times said your faith was dead without works. You opened the door to the Bible, I just noticed it and exploited your use of it in a reply.

 

Paisley wrote:

pauljohntheskeptic wrote:
Paisley wrote:
The dialectical process can either be viewed as a power struggle or a healing process. The choice is yours.

You are the one that came here asking to be fixed or healed not me.

I know. (Actually, it was more of challenge than a request.) However, you're the one who perceives "greed" as the only principle by which the world is governed. This is a rather cynical worldview.

Actually I don't. This was intended as cynical satire. The point which buzzed right past you was you can support any non-rational view by claiming there is evidence for it. There clearly is a lot of evidence suggesting greed and lust drives man. There is also much evidence showing cooperation and respect in order to advance society even back to the ancient civilization of Sumer. Possibly even between Neanderthals and humans based on the discovery of common burials together. What there isn't found is actual evidence of your claim that god is involved as love. It's all non-material. As you say mystical.

____________________________________________________________
"I guess it's time to ask if you live under high voltage power transmission lines which have been shown to cause stimulation of the fantasy centers of the brain due to electromagnetic waves?" - Me

"God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, - it says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of believing all three of these divine attributes simultaneously, I have a wonderful bargain for you. No checks please. Cash and in small bills." - Robert A Heinlein.


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Paisley wrote:Eloise

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Eloise wrote:
My apologies Paisley, I have misread you, your post was an attack on reason; and in that case I will say I thoroughly and totally disagree with it. I am of the mind that if any such God exists whom would refuse to make himself known through reason, and mind that I don't believe that is the case, then that God is no "God" it is a demi-god of an arbitrary physical phenomenon, a pantheon ensemble concept.

It's not an attack on reason.

Excuse me? I could have sworn you just said it was . You said "I do not believe that an individual will come to know the reality of universal love (God) through a logical proof." Does this not unashamedly imply that reason is a totally inadequate and pointless practice?

The traditional method to achieve spiritual enlightenment or God-realization is through contemplative prayer or meditation. As I see it, meditation is primarily an intuitive process. It does not employ logical analysis. In fact, it may be seen as the "letting go" of analytical thought. This is not to say that I never use logical reasoning or that I am opposed to analytical thought. However, I do not see logical analysis as the primary means of communing with God.

Now, if you found some analytical thought process that has lead you to God realization then more power to you.

Eloise wrote:
A change in consciousness which entails no computable mechanism? You can NEVER see or comprehend logically why such a change would occur?

Yes, I can. The analytical mind is basically the domain of the ego. The process of analysis is to break things down into their constituent parts. You will never see "wholeness" by ripping it apart.

Eloise wrote:
Now I can absolutely respect the notion that it is not necessary to obtain a logical comprehension of the mechanism in order to experience it, but that is a different thing to there not being one, or the statement that one is impossible to derive. I can only refuse to believe in a god that makes himself the exclusive property of the uneducated and the easily lead, such is not a god to me and certainly not a god of Love in any case.

Being uneducated is not a virtue in and of itself. However, there is something to be said for simplicity. I think this is what Jesus had in mind when he stated...

"Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 18:3

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Okay. Do you have this "purely logical proof?" If so, please share it with us.

I will be frank, here. Until we all come to realise all the basic precepts of existence that we have misapprehended, there is no point to showing any logical proof. We are taking illusions and relics of experience for granted to be absolutes, that is how we live and in that framework one would be foolish to try and even set up the logic let alone follow it.

Thankyou for asking but I have decided to follow my own instincts on this one. One must first diminish all dependence on false precepts and repeal attachment to relics and illusions. There is a logical process that makes it possible to understand these things and that should probably come first.

Instincts? Is that a logical process or an intuitive one?

I agree that we have to discern between truth and illusion in our daily lives. But this entails intuition as much as it entails analysis.

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Eloise wrote:
I too believe in release from attachment to preserving egotistical structure as the way to enlightenment, but to demand or force it from someone is futile and ugly.

Who is demanding it or forcing it? I'm simply stating what I believe as are you.

I mean by this that you are insisting it must be done. That one must wield their faith unknowing or else be damned to never knowing.

I have never condemned or damned anyone in here. And if you believe I have, then please provide me with a quote in this thread which demonstrates that I have.

What I have said is that letting go of the ego is a prerequisite to spiritual enlightenment. And it would appear that you hold the same belief. So I fail to see the reason for this hostility that you are directing my way.

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead


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Paisley wrote:I said that I

Paisley wrote:


I said that I believe that God is love.

 

 

   .....and you only required 670+ posts  to accomplish that amazingly simple task.

 


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tommy wrote:God is real ! no

tommy wrote:
God is real ! no dout wat so eva

Agreed.


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   "God is love" ? ,

   "God is love" ? , whatever.....  "God of abe" is a mean evil dog too ! So much for the bible "god is love"  ..... 

(Isaiah 45:7, KJV) - "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."


(Amos 3:6) - "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?"

"I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, ... The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these." (Isaiah 45:5-7).


"And the Lord said to him, "Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" (Exodus 4:11).


"Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?" (Amos 3:6).

God of abe must die ,   
 


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Paisley wrote:Eloise

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
This is what I was getting at.

It would help if you included some information here as to how you were getting at this, cause it isn't apparent to me in any way.

I did. I provided an excerpt from the Wiki article which explained why RQM was a form of antirealism.

The thread of this particular part of the discussion is now completely snipped out, leaving nothing but naked assertions. Let's try again.

So... you're saying that you were originally getting at - what can be said for the objects which are observed - by providing an excerpt of the article including that statement. Fair enough, but that's not what I meant by How.

If you please, could you explain how you mean that pointing out anti-realism in RQM relates to the details we are discussing? How is anti-realism what you are getting at, in making which point to me?

 

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Eloise wrote:
To know the state the universe is in only in retrospect is an anthropomorphic misapprehension, RQM may forbid that there is any meaning to describing a state of t entire universe but it does not discount a law underlying relative observations of the universe being known.

So where is the transcendent aspect of God in all of this?

It's there, but it is not apparent if you misapprehend what form one should expect it take and yet be beyond the range of the "ordinary human experience" which is entailed in the definition of transcendence.

So, is God a transcendental state of consciousness or awareness?

Going back to what I initially proposed about awareness - Use RQM to obtain that awareness is fundamental as a process equivalent to materialisation of a state then-

Firstly, a transcendent awareness is then a transcendent material state - A material state which is apart from the 'ordinary human experience'.  This description applies to things which are in no way God; societies, for example fit this description - the materialisation of the shared bounds of a society is a relational awareness. 

Secondly Consciousness and matter are not apart from this principle, they are encompassed in it. Consciousness, then, is not defined by a quantity of interactions ranging to complexity encompassed in a deterministic bound but by the actualisation of interactions in a relational bound. So you don't need 'more' interactions - as might be suggested, to acquire a consciousness outside of human experience, consciousness can be defined by a smaller number of interactions as well as by a greater one, and this defines all relational states of consciousness equally real at any level, as with matter.

Therefore it is not consciousness which is transcendent, but awareness. However awareness and actualisation are synonymous therefore a transcendent awareness must necessarily be actual and in being actual is no different to any level of consciousness. That is to say, as I mentioned earlier, God can "look through any eye" and be God with all the trimmings. ie Panenetheism.

 

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
What can be said is that they are not objects, basically. They too are relational states. This strikes the heart of how we define our position as observers of these states, no observer is definable independently of it's observation, and yes RQM extends contiguously to relative sized objects like human beings. Our anthropomorphic concept is false in RQM because it is defined independently. Thus you cannot frame God in this concept, you cannot even accurately frame yourself in it. Such a human being does not exist. What exists is a relational 'level' of interaction which represents human-world, and that alone defines what we humans have believed and acted as though we are.

Okay, here you say that "you cannot frame God in this concept (RQM)."

No that's not what I said. I said our anthropomorphic concept presupposes that humans are objectively real and RQM (among other resilient proposals) overturns it, there is no objectively real thing, no absolute state, just a relational coordinate of interaction to which those concepts apply. So you can apply the concept in it's relational frame but you cannot frame a definition of your self in the concept, it would be a false definition. To frame God in the common anthropomorphic concept of an objective state of being then is equally false.

 

Quote:

But what is this that exists "a relational 'level' of interaction wich respresents human-world?" Can you substitute "subject-object" for "human-world?" Duality? Observer-observed? Is the interaction the "observing?" The unity in the duality?

I'm saying that if RQM continues it's successful run all the way to the finish line, we will altogether abandon subject-object as nothing but superstition. Human-world or Observer-observed would then be slightly more accurate concepts representing the nature of our reality but not as a substitute for subject-object.

 

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
And yes a God can observed all relative states simultaneously that it is not thermodynamically involved in. Any observer can, all observers do.

Here you suggest that God can observe "all relative states simultaneously." This would qualify as a transcendent God. However, you said elsewhere that "it (the transcendent aspect of God) is not apparent if you misapprehend what form one should expect it take." You also stated elsewhere that "you cannot frame God in this concept (RQM)." So now I am confused. Which one is it?

I have clarified the third point for you already so I'll ignore that, but now I don't see your objection at all, could you rephrase?

 

 

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Yicks , will dogma ever stop

Yicks , will dogma ever stop ?   Thank goodness science is rising as the highest moderator. Science says we don't know fucking jack shit ! Sometimes I feel like shouting, mathematics is dogma ! "

WOW , This link below is kinda fun. I need a summary, I AM lazy, please save me, please help me,  is god in here somewhere ? ! Did Abraham know god ? ! 

>>> Quantum Dogma !   http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00003967/  


 ..... “dogmas of empiricism” The other dogma rejected by Quine is the “cleavage between analytic and synthetic truths” ..... "but aren’t the truths of mathematics analytic, those of physics synthetic? "  WOW !

Some copy paste below, 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics#Philosophical_consequences

" ..... according to the theory of quantum decoherence, the parallel universes will never be accessible for us, making them physically meaningless. This inaccessibility can be understood as follows: once a measurement is done, the measured system becomes entangled with both the physicist who measured it and a huge number of other particles, some of which are photons flying away towards the other end of the universe; in order to prove that the wave function did not collapse one would have to bring all these particles back and measure them again, together with the system that was measured originally.

This is completely impractical, but even if one can theoretically do this, it would destroy any evidence that the original measurement took place (including the physicist's memory). " ////


"Quantum mind",   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mind#Philosophy


As David Chalmers puts it:
 "Nevertheless, quantum theories of consciousness suffer from the same difficulties as neural or computational theories. Quantum phenomena have some remarkable functional properties, such as nondeterminism and nonlocality. It is natural to speculate that these properties may play some role in the explanation of cognitive functions, such as random choice and the integration of information, and this hypothesis cannot be ruled out a priori.

But when it comes to the explanation of experience, quantum processes are in the same boat as any other. The question of why these processes should give rise to experience is entirely unanswered.


Other philosophers, such as Patricia and Paul Churchland and Daniel Dennett  reject the idea that there is anything puzzling about consciousness in the first place." ////


   .... Fucking godamn it jesus fucking christ ... I AM special , I will kill a million Iraq's .... and for gods sakes I did it .....  who's next ? ........       


 

 


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Paisley wrote:I'm a believer

Paisley wrote:

I'm a believer in God. Can you please help fix it?

Paisley,

Is not the real truth that you don't really believe. You were indoctrinated, you feel peer preasure to believe and feel fear of Hell if you don't believe. None of this is real belief. You are just here looking for justification in your own mind to come out of the closet. You are really a closet atheist, right?

 

Taxation is the price we pay for failing to build a civilized society. The higher the tax level, the greater the failure. A centrally planned totalitarian state represents a complete defeat for the civilized world, while a totally voluntary society represents its ultimate success. --Mark Skousen


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Paisley wrote:Eloise

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Eloise wrote:
My apologies Paisley, I have misread you, your post was an attack on reason; and in that case I will say I thoroughly and totally disagree with it. I am of the mind that if any such God exists whom would refuse to make himself known through reason, and mind that I don't believe that is the case, then that God is no "God" it is a demi-god of an arbitrary physical phenomenon, a pantheon ensemble concept.

It's not an attack on reason.

Excuse me? I could have sworn you just said it was . You said "I do not believe that an individual will come to know the reality of universal love (God) through a logical proof." Does this not unashamedly imply that reason is a totally inadequate and pointless practice?

The traditional method to achieve spiritual enlightenment or God-realization is through contemplative prayer or meditation. As I see it, meditation is primarily an intuitive process. It does not employ logical analysis. In fact, it may be seen as the "letting go" of analytical thought. This is not to say that I never use logical reasoning or that I am opposed to analytical thought. However, I do not see logical analysis as the primary means of communing with God.

But you didn't qualify this statement with the word "primary": I do not believe that an individual will come to know the reality of universal love (God) through a logical proof. - as you are doing now. And even if you had, I'm still finding that it rings the hollow of an attack on reason as pointless and inadequate.

 

Quote:

Now, if you found some analytical thought process that has lead you to God realization then more power to you.

No I'm not speaking of my experience, it is a pure statement that the conclusion of God is logical and thereby can be logically reached, by extension I conclude also that God does not shun reason.

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
A change in consciousness which entails no computable mechanism? You can NEVER see or comprehend logically why such a change would occur?

Yes, I can.

So you can comprehend logically why the change occurs, but it can not be logically arrived at? That makes no sense.

Paisley wrote:

The analytical mind is basically the domain of the ego. The process of analysis is to break things down into their constituent parts. You will never see "wholeness" by ripping it apart.

I beg to differ, didn't you say you were panentheist? How do you reconcile God indwelling all things with God (the whole) being imperceptible in a part of all?

 

 

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Now I can absolutely respect the notion that it is not necessary to obtain a logical comprehension of the mechanism in order to experience it, but that is a different thing to there not being one, or the statement that one is impossible to derive. I can only refuse to believe in a god that makes himself the exclusive property of the uneducated and the easily lead, such is not a god to me and certainly not a god of Love in any case.

Being uneducated is not a virtue in and of itself. However, there is something to be said for simplicity. I think this is what Jesus had in mind when he stated...

"Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 18:3

It may be that you are right, considering this passage is quite widely open to interpretation, but I stand by what I've said, for the conversion method alluded to here to be an exclusive treasure of ignorance is to make it as much the property of contempt and vanity as if the reverse were true, and I couldn't believe in that.

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Okay. Do you have this "purely logical proof?" If so, please share it with us.

I will be frank, here. Until we all come to realise all the basic precepts of existence that we have misapprehended, there is no point to showing any logical proof. We are taking illusions and relics of experience for granted to be absolutes, that is how we live and in that framework one would be foolish to try and even set up the logic let alone follow it.

Thankyou for asking but I have decided to follow my own instincts on this one. One must first diminish all dependence on false precepts and repeal attachment to relics and illusions. There is a logical process that makes it possible to understand these things and that should probably come first.

Instincts? Is that a logical process or an intuitive one?

LOL. I use my instincts in decision making, I am of the mind that instincts and intuition possess an analytical character of different proportions to logic, but that is beside the point.

Quote:

I agree that we have to discern between truth and illusion in our daily lives. But this entails intuition as much as it entails analysis.

I didn't say that it doesn't. What I am trying to say is that to make a logical argument you must have a basis free of logical errors. We are still working on that.

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Eloise wrote:
I too believe in release from attachment to preserving egotistical structure as the way to enlightenment, but to demand or force it from someone is futile and ugly.

Who is demanding it or forcing it? I'm simply stating what I believe as are you.

I mean by this that you are insisting it must be done. That one must wield their faith unknowing or else be damned to never knowing.

I have never condemned or damned anyone in here. And if you believe I have, then please provide me with a quote in this thread which demonstrates that I have.

There isn't a quote, the question of damnation is implied. When one says you can not discover God by logical means, it has implied by extension that a desire for logical explanation leads to damnation.

Quote:

What I have said is that letting go of the ego is a prerequisite to spiritual enlightenment. And it would appear that you hold the same belief. So I fail to see the reason for this hostility that you are directing my way.

I do not hold the same belief. I believe letting go of the ego is intrinsic to spiritual enlightenment, I do not hold it as a prerequisite. And I advocate strongly that there are logically attainable prerequisites to the relinquishing the integrity of the ego.

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Paisley wrote:magilum

Paisley wrote:

magilum wrote:
Paisley wrote:
I'm not saying that I never engage in induction. We all do. What I am saying is that induction is based on an assumption that deductive reasoning cannot prove.

Which you pointed out to establish a parallel between the problem of induction and faith in a cockamamie Yahweh-lite and the museum of Paisley he'll curate when your dumb ass is deader than disco. As I've pointed out, we have the entire functional body of mutually-supporting human knowledge which risks being fundamentally false, versus the nebulous, useless, childish and unsubstantiated load of crap you're peddling because death makes you feel squishy in your drawers.

But I was not making an argument for the existence of God. I was simply using induction as an example to demonstrate that faith underlies rationality.

You're admitting to the very thing I'm accusing you of, you dumb bastard. I've already gone over the problems with the comparison between the two -- I've done so several times, in fact. It's time you started wearing your prescription bike helmet.


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HisWillness wrote:@magilum

HisWillness wrote:

@magilum and nigelTheBold

You guys are amazing. I left this fray because I couldn't take the merry-go-round anymore. Do you guys take lots of vitamins or something? The exercise of revisiting the same equivocations and misrepresentations over and over wore me right out.

LOL. I stayed on hoping to be post #666, but that was cruelly snagged from me.


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I hold my ego the highest

  I hold my ego the highest and the lowest , as I WE ARE ONE ... and so is the buddha lesson of the "middle" !          Then big J , 600 yrs later, had a word of wisdom too , "Ye are God, one with the thingy" !    What do YOU think, god as YOU ?     

   .... if you ain't god , you fucking scare me ....    

RRS,  "Believe in God ?"  ..... Fuck no , I AM GOD, and I don't believe ME !       


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  I think Magilum is really

  I think Magilum is really George Carlin , just a guess ..... but wait , all is ONE ! Of course , now I get it, .... Hi George ! ..... all is george ...

 ..... it's a middle kind of philosophy I AM fond of .....  after all, we are rather connected .... as we have one sun ..... one earth .... one race ..... ONE.


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magilum wrote:HisWillness

magilum wrote:

HisWillness wrote:

@magilum and nigelTheBold

You guys are amazing. I left this fray because I couldn't take the merry-go-round anymore. Do you guys take lots of vitamins or something? The exercise of revisiting the same equivocations and misrepresentations over and over wore me right out.

LOL. I stayed on hoping to be post #666, but that was cruelly snagged from me.

Sorry. Next time you can have it.

I wasn't trying to be cruel. Really.

"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers


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I AM GOD AS YOU wrote:Yicks

I AM GOD AS YOU wrote:

Yicks , will dogma ever stop ?   Thank goodness science is rising as the highest moderator. Science says we don't know fucking jack shit ! Sometimes I feel like shouting, mathematics is dogma ! "

WOW , This link below is kinda fun. I need a summary, I AM lazy, please save me, please help me,  is god in here somewhere ? ! Did Abraham know god ? ! 

>>> Quantum Dogma !   http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00003967/  


 ..... “dogmas of empiricism” The other dogma rejected by Quine is the “cleavage between analytic and synthetic truths” ..... "but aren’t the truths of mathematics analytic, those of physics synthetic? "  WOW !


For you Iam - Michel, Bitbol (2007) ONTOLOGY, MATTER AND EMERGENCE.

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Eloise wrote:You might want

Eloise wrote:

You might want to read up a little on RQM here:

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/quant-ph/pdf/9703/9703021v1.pdf

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/quant-ph/pdf/9609/9609002v2.pdf

These are mostly not difficult to read and require little technical knowledge.

Also try this book - (links to a Google Preview)

Eloise,

Thanks. I do appreciate the links. I've not read Rovelli yet, but I'm a huge fan of Lee Smolin. (Actually, I'd never heard of Rovelli before.) I look forward to catching up on RQM, at least from a layman's perspective.

"Yes, I seriously believe that consciousness is a product of a natural process. I find that the neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers who proceed from that premise are the ones who are actually making useful contributions to our understanding of the mind." - PZ Myers


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magilum wrote:LOL. I stayed

magilum wrote:

LOL. I stayed on hoping to be post #666, but that was cruelly snagged from me.

Ah! That's what *I* was trying for. Figures nigel got it, that bastard.

Hey nigel, put on a blue shirt and take a picture of yourself! I want to see how close you end up looking to mazid (click the link on my signature).

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fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence


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Eloise wrote:Paisley

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Now, if you found some analytical thought process that has lead you to God realization then more power to you.
 

No I'm not speaking of my experience, it is a pure statement that the conclusion of God is logical and thereby can be logically reached, by extension I conclude also that God does not shun reason.

Well, I am speaking of experience! I have said this repeatedly. Believing in the existence of God based on a logical conclusion and experientially knowing the reality of God based on a spiritual transformation are not the same thing!

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
The analytical mind is basically the domain of the ego. The process of analysis is to break things down into their constituent parts. You will never see "wholeness" by ripping it apart.

I beg to differ, didn't you say you were panentheist?

Yes, I did.

Eloise wrote:
How do you reconcile God indwelling all things with God (the whole) being imperceptible in a part of all?

I believe you said the separate parts were illusory. Right?

I think the following quote probably best expresses my panentheistic sentiment.

Quote:
"Every mind contains all minds, for every mind is one. Such is the truth." (source: ACIM)

Eloise wrote:
It may be that you are right, considering this passage is quite widely open to interpretation, but I stand by what I've said, for the conversion method alluded to here to be an exclusive treasure of ignorance is to make it as much the property of contempt and vanity as if the reverse were true, and I couldn't believe in that.

Unless we have experiential knowledge of the truth, then we are all in a state of ignorance.

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Instincts? Is that a logical process or an intuitive one?

LOL. I use my instincts in decision making, I am of the mind that instincts and intuition possess an analytical character of different proportions to logic, but that is beside the point.

No, it isn't beside the point. It's the whole point. I have been using the term "intuition" to refer specifically to the non-rational (the atheists here are referring to it as irrational). Now, if this is what you are taking issue with me, then it is only over a matter of semantics. Personally, I see the intuitive as synthetic, not analytical.

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
I have never condemned or damned anyone in here. And if you believe I have, then please provide me with a quote in this thread which demonstrates that I have.

There isn't a quote, the question of damnation is implied. When one says you can not discover God by logical means, it has implied by extension that a desire for logical explanation leads to damnation.

The term "damnation" clearly means to be condemned to eternal hell. I trust that you fully understand this. I will kindly ask you not to engage in such low-level tactics.

I have simply expressed a belief that God is love and that love itself entails faith and trust. That this should be such a point of contention for someone who professes to be a "gnostic panentheist" is mind-boggling.

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
What I have said is that letting go of the ego is a prerequisite to spiritual enlightenment. And it would appear that you hold the same belief. So I fail to see the reason for this hostility that you are directing my way.

I do not hold the same belief. I believe letting go of the ego is intrinsic to spiritual enlightenment, I do not hold it as a prerequisite. And I advocate strongly that there are logically attainable prerequisites to the relinquishing the integrity of the ego.

Not only are you engaging in contradictory double-talk but this whole charade of yours is nothing but a straw-man argument.

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead


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Paisley wrote:I have simply

Paisley wrote:

I have simply expressed a belief that God is love and that love itself entails faith and trust.

Are you still equivocating? If it was a simple expression of God = love, and love happens to be something that goes on in the real world, then why would anyone bother talking about God? We'd just say "love" instead. You clearly have something else in mind, and you dance around it. You've been dancing around it this whole time.

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 I agree Will, ....  if a

 I agree Will, ....  if a 12 yr old can't understand you Paisley regarding teaching god, it's basically worthless. I've asked you for a simple summary, but that obviously isn't your style ..... Geezzz, you make me think of bible Paul .....  that dog breeder .....   Do you even mean well ?       


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Paisley wrote:Eloise

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Now, if you found some analytical thought process that has lead you to God realization then more power to you.
 

No I'm not speaking of my experience, it is a pure statement that the conclusion of God is logical and thereby can be logically reached, by extension I conclude also that God does not shun reason.

Well, I am speaking of experience! I have said this repeatedly. Believing in the existence of God based on a logical conclusion and experientially knowing the reality of God based on a spiritual transformation are not the same thing!

And what I have repeatedly said is that they may not be the same thing but they entail the same conclusions! A spiritual transformation based on the logical reality of God is the inevitable result of the logical understanding of all, since God is All. This is a pantheism 101, surely? Do you not agree?

 

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
The analytical mind is basically the domain of the ego. The process of analysis is to break things down into their constituent parts. You will never see "wholeness" by ripping it apart.

I beg to differ, didn't you say you were panentheist?

Yes, I did.

Eloise wrote:
How do you reconcile God indwelling all things with God (the whole) being imperceptible in a part of all?

I believe you said the separate parts were illusory. Right?

Probably, but I would have inferred that mainly as a figure of speech I'm sure. It is common conceptualisations which I would call out to be illusion, actual pieces of reality are as real as real gets, formally. While colloquial concepts of what constitutes 'real' are, I would say, illusions.

 

Paisley wrote:

I think the following quote probably best expresses my panentheistic sentiment.

Quote:
"Every mind contains all minds, for every mind is one. Such is the truth." (source: ACIM)

That is a perfectly good quote and I have no issue accepting this position or even agreeing with it. I only have some niggles on the details, for example with this quote, we previously established that you did not hold a dualist philosophy, while I am seeing that to be true I cannot see that you any basis in your philosophy for a difference between a mind and a fragment of reality within which God may be perceptible.  That is to say - if you are not dualist, and every mind contains all minds, then it follows that you have implied every'thing' contains all things. If you are, perchance, a property dualist, then it is plausible that you are allowing for 'mind' to be unique among 'things', but I thought that wasn't the case. Am I wrong?

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
It may be that you are right, considering this passage is quite widely open to interpretation, but I stand by what I've said, for the conversion method alluded to here to be an exclusive treasure of ignorance is to make it as much the property of contempt and vanity as if the reverse were true, and I couldn't believe in that.

Unless we have experiential knowledge of the truth, then we are all in a state of ignorance.

Don't you think that is an equivocation here?

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Instincts? Is that a logical process or an intuitive one?

LOL. I use my instincts in decision making, I am of the mind that instincts and intuition possess an analytical character of different proportions to logic, but that is beside the point.

No, it isn't beside the point. It's the whole point. I have been using the term "intuition" to refer specifically to the non-rational (the atheists here are referring to it as irrational). Now, if this is what you are taking issue with me, then it is only over a matter of semantics.

It's beside the point because it is my decision as to what I have to contribute of value in this discussion, and not what I, or others, do or do not believe. There is a difference between using my intuition to inform my contribution or actions within a social setting and arguing reasons why or how others should use theirs.

Paisley wrote:

Personally, I see the intuitive as synthetic, not analytical.

I agree that intuition is synthetic insofar as you would define synthetic, but I have not regard for this dichotomy, I would argue for synthesis as a form of analysis, but that is beside the point, now. We (Nigel, You and I) are all already in agreement here that intuition is a viable source of real knowledge.

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
I have never condemned or damned anyone in here. And if you believe I have, then please provide me with a quote in this thread which demonstrates that I have.

There isn't a quote, the question of damnation is implied. When one says you can not discover God by logical means, it has implied by extension that a desire for logical explanation leads to damnation.

The term "damnation" clearly means to be condemned to eternal hell. I trust that you fully understand this. I will kindly ask you not to engage in such low-level tactics.

Huh? I apologise that it may have appeared I was engaged in tactics there, I wasn't. I genuinely meant that as a statement of fact, damnation is a logical extension of the argument over God, it's really just part of the furniture here. In a very real sense it is, by default, the topic of any conversation on this forum, unless we overtly rule it out. Again, I'm sorry, no offense was intended.

 

Paisley wrote:

I have simply expressed a belief that God is love and that love itself entails faith and trust. That this should be such a point of contention for someone who professes to be a "gnostic panentheist" is mind-boggling.

I don't see why it's mind-boggling, all these atheists are asking for is a little logical justification for Love being God, rather than just 'Love', and I merely feel that it warrants a fairer reply.

Paisley wrote:

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
What I have said is that letting go of the ego is a prerequisite to spiritual enlightenment. And it would appear that you hold the same belief. So I fail to see the reason for this hostility that you are directing my way.

I do not hold the same belief. I believe letting go of the ego is intrinsic to spiritual enlightenment, I do not hold it as a prerequisite. And I advocate strongly that there are logically attainable prerequisites to the relinquishing the integrity of the ego.

Not only are you engaging in contradictory double-talk but this whole charade of yours is nothing but a straw-man argument.

Que? That doesn't seem at all a reasonable thing to say.

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Geezz I AM getting MAD,

  Geezz I AM getting MAD, getting dogma shit on my shoes .... thank GOD can laugh .....  I hope you aren't a practicing psychologist Paisley, you would drive people fucking nuts !   

   .... But I love ya , really ..... and thanks for your g a w e d ..... I learned a thing or two ......       

   , just had to add,  Eloise is a goddess      We are ONE !     


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This thread is now almost

This thread is now almost 700 posts long and Paisley is still not through trying to explain his panentheistic mumbo jumbo.  He is even debating differences of opinion  with Eloise, the only other panentheist on this forum. ( geez, how fucked up is that ? )

 

I predict ( with absolute certainty ) that unless this thread is closed by the moderators Paisley will keep this futile discussion alive for as long as he possibly can.

Why ? ...what else about panentheism needs to be said that hasn't been repeated a dozen times already? 

 


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Eloise wrote:Paisley

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Well, I am speaking of experience! I have said this repeatedly. Believing in the existence of God based on a logical conclusion and experientially knowing the reality of God based on a spiritual transformation are not the same thing!

And what I have repeatedly said is that they may not be the same thing but they entail the same conclusions! A spiritual transformation based on the logical reality of God is the inevitable result of the logical understanding of all, since God is All. This is a pantheism 101, surely? Do you not agree?

What is your logical method to achieve God-realization? If God-realization entails understanding all logical relations and assuming that the number of relations are infinite, then how does a finite mind achieve this? Logic tells me that logic itself is incapable of this feat.

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
I believe you said the separate parts were illusory. Right?

Probably, but I would have inferred that mainly as a figure of speech I'm sure. It is common conceptualisations which I would call out to be illusion, actual pieces of reality are as real as real gets, formally. While colloquial concepts of what constitutes 'real' are, I would say, illusions.

What are the "actual pieces of reality?"

Eloise wrote:

Quote:
"Every mind contains all minds, for every mind is one. Such is the truth." (source: ACIM)

That is a perfectly good quote and I have no issue accepting this position or even agreeing with it. I only have some niggles on the details, for example with this quote, we previously established that you did not hold a dualist philosophy, while I am seeing that to be true I cannot see that you any basis in your philosophy for a difference between a mind and a fragment of reality within which God may be perceptible.

What exactly is a "fragment of reality?"

Eloise wrote:
That is to say - if you are not dualist, and every mind contains all minds, then it follows that you have implied every'thing' contains all things. If you are, perchance, a property dualist, then it is plausible that you are allowing for 'mind' to be unique among 'things', but I thought that wasn't the case. Am I wrong?

I would characterized my view has having affinity with either idealism or dialectical monism.  I also said before that I am attracted to process theology which is based on panexperientialism. This is probably compatible with dual-aspect monism or neutral monism. The bottom line is that all these views involve a basic element of paradox. Life itself is paradoxical. I accept the paradox and I don't think that logical analysis will ever fully resolve it.

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Unless we have experiential knowledge of the truth, then we are all in a state of ignorance.

Don't you think that is an equivocation here?

No. What's the equivocation? I am not feigning to have the gnosis or spiritual enlightenment. I acknowledge that I am living by faith. This is called being intellectually honest.

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
No, it isn't beside the point. It's the whole point. I have been using the term "intuition" to refer specifically to the non-rational (the atheists here are referring to it as irrational). Now, if this is what you are taking issue with me, then it is only over a matter of semantics.

It's beside the point because it is my decision as to what I have to contribute of value in this discussion, and not what I, or others, do or do not believe. There is a difference between using my intuition to inform my contribution or actions within a social setting and arguing reasons why or how others should use theirs.

Quite honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about.

The point is that you have vehemently criticized me for "assaulting reason" because I suggested that the experiential knowledge of God is primarily an intuitive process. Now, you are saying that intuition is a rational process. That being said, if intuition is a rational process, then how am I assaulting reason?

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Personally, I see the intuitive as synthetic, not analytical.

I agree that intuition is synthetic insofar as you would define synthetic, but I have not regard for this dichotomy, I would argue for synthesis as a form of analysis, but that is beside the point, now. We (Nigel, You and I) are all already in agreement here that intuition is a viable source of real knowledge.

I haven't defined by what I mean by the synthetic. But now I will...

"synthesis : the dialectic combination of thesis and antithesis into a higher stage of truth" (source: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

Incidentally, Nigel argues that "intuition" is irrational. I say that it is nonrational (mainly because the term "irrational" has a negative connotation).

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
The term "damnation" clearly means to be condemned to eternal hell. I trust that you fully understand this. I will kindly ask you not to engage in such low-level tactics.

Huh? I apologise that it may have appeared I was engaged in tactics there, I wasn't. I genuinely meant that as a statement of fact, damnation is a logical extension of the argument over God, it's really just part of the furniture here. In a very real sense it is, by default, the topic of any conversation on this forum, unless we overtly rule it out. Again, I'm sorry, no offense was intended.

I don't believe in eternal damnation. I'm surprised to learn that you do. At any rate, I certainly do not believe that anyone who disagrees with me will be banished to eternal hell.

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
I have simply expressed a belief that God is love and that love itself entails faith and trust. That this should be such a point of contention for someone who professes to be a "gnostic panentheist" is mind-boggling.

I don't see why it's mind-boggling, all these atheists are asking for is a little logical justification for Love being God, rather than just 'Love', and I merely feel that it warrants a fairer reply.

Fairer reply? Surely you jest.

I wasn't attempting to prove that love constitutes ultimate reality and therefore I felt no obligation to prove it scientifically. I was simply stating that both the scientist and mystic are searching for the same thing (namely, truth) in their own way. The scientist is searching for a unifying principle or law which explains everything (the elusive 'theory of everything') while the mystic is seeking a unitive experience which he calls love.

By the way, if you feel you can scientifically prove that God is love to the complete satisfaction of the atheists in this forum, then I suggest that you do it. But until then, please do not lecture me how I should or should not conduct my own arguments.  

Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
Eloise wrote:
Paisley wrote:
What I have said is that letting go of the ego is a prerequisite to spiritual enlightenment. And it would appear that you hold the same belief. So I fail to see the reason for this hostility that you are directing my way.

I do not hold the same belief. I believe letting go of the ego is intrinsic to spiritual enlightenment, I do not hold it as a prerequisite. And I advocate strongly that there are logically attainable prerequisites to the relinquishing the integrity of the ego.

Not only are you engaging in contradictory double-talk but this whole charade of yours is nothing but a straw-man argument.

Que? That doesn't seem at all a reasonable thing to say.

It's called duplicity. And I am simply calling it as I see it.

"Scientists animated by the purpose of proving they are purposeless constitute an interesting subject for study." - Alfred North Whitehead