Register | Sign In


Understanding through Discussion


EvC Forum active members: 63 (9161 total)
3 online now:
Newest Member: popoi
Post Volume: Total: 915,585 Year: 2,842/9,624 Month: 687/1,588 Week: 93/229 Day: 4/61 Hour: 0/0


Thread  Details

Email This Thread
Newer Topic | Older Topic
  
Author Topic:   Inductive Atheism
PaulK
Member
Posts: 17815
Joined: 01-10-2003
Member Rating: 2.1


(1)
Message 32 of 536 (604564)
02-13-2011 6:16 AM


Another test
If god-concepts are the product of human imagination, then each particular god should be transmitted by ordinary human means. However, most proposed gods are not geographically restricted and could easily contact humans all over the world.
Therefore, if god-concepts are found to spread by ordinary human communication it would be significant evidence that they are the product of human imagination.

Replies to this message:
 Message 33 by Straggler, posted 02-13-2011 8:25 AM PaulK has replied

PaulK
Member
Posts: 17815
Joined: 01-10-2003
Member Rating: 2.1


Message 34 of 536 (604584)
02-13-2011 9:41 AM
Reply to: Message 33 by Straggler
02-13-2011 8:25 AM


Re: Another test
If the specifics are not communicated or misread then surely they are the product of human invention. If a god wishes to communicate its nature to us then we surely should expect specifics, should we not ? And if it does not then the specifics must come from somewhere else anyway.
Or to put it simply, the only common features are those which can easily be explained on the hypothesis of human invention - but if there were real gods communicating with people it is very likely that that would not be true.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 33 by Straggler, posted 02-13-2011 8:25 AM Straggler has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 35 by Straggler, posted 02-13-2011 9:53 AM PaulK has replied

PaulK
Member
Posts: 17815
Joined: 01-10-2003
Member Rating: 2.1


Message 36 of 536 (604586)
02-13-2011 10:02 AM
Reply to: Message 35 by Straggler
02-13-2011 9:53 AM


Re: Devils Advocate
quote:
The specifics are human inventions. Only the ardent adherents of specific religions will dispute that.
Isn't RAZD disputing that ? Isn't that what the current Great debate with Bluegenes is about ?
quote:
But "consilience" demands that the common factors suggest "something".
A true consilience requires DIFFERENT lines of evidence,not just one, so there is no consilience here.
And the "something" suggested by the commonalities could as well be human psychology. Isn't that more likely than vague communications from an entity that has no interest in communicating ?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 35 by Straggler, posted 02-13-2011 9:53 AM Straggler has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 37 by Straggler, posted 02-13-2011 10:15 AM PaulK has replied

PaulK
Member
Posts: 17815
Joined: 01-10-2003
Member Rating: 2.1


Message 38 of 536 (604589)
02-13-2011 10:29 AM
Reply to: Message 37 by Straggler
02-13-2011 10:15 AM


Re: Devils Advocate
quote:
I don't think so. RAZD is promoting what he calls the "Hindu hypothesis" which basically suggests that the combined specifics of various supernatural beliefs point to some wholly unspecific actuality of supernature. In other words "consilience" of some sort.
But does RAZD concede that the "gods" that are believd in are mainly human inventions ? If so, he has to agree with a lot more of bluegenes' theory than he seems to be comfortable with.
quote:
The different lines of evidence would be the different specific beliefs. RAZ is fond of the blind men and the elephant analogy.
If that's what he's saying it's very weak. For a true consilience you'd be looking for unrelated lines of evidence (e.g. for evolution even Darwin had biogeography, the patterns of taxonomy and the fossil record demonstrating that the fauna and flora on Earth had changed dramatically over time). He'd have to show different and unrelated commonalities to have any argument at all (and that would be hard to do rigourously).

This message is a reply to:
 Message 37 by Straggler, posted 02-13-2011 10:15 AM Straggler has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 40 by Straggler, posted 02-13-2011 12:18 PM PaulK has not replied

Newer Topic | Older Topic
Jump to:


Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved

™ Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024