Comments on ABSENCEofGOOD: Cunning linguists.

I wanted to say I've enjoyed reading your pages Fl...

2009-07-30T00:37:59.146-07:00

I wanted to say I've enjoyed reading your pages Floyd. I hope to see more over time.

I must say that I am intolerant of the intolerant....

2009-06-29T06:33:29.357-07:00

I must say that I am intolerant of the intolerant. A flaw in my character I know but oh well.

P.S. - I like the title as well. :-)

Sorry guys. This now seems to be working for me ag...

2009-06-27T18:35:54.640-07:00

Sorry guys. This now seems to be working for me again. More later

TEST TEST TEST

2009-06-27T18:35:00.813-07:00

TEST TEST TEST

This is a test posting. For the last 48 hours I ha...

2009-06-27T18:34:30.870-07:00

This is a test posting. For the last 48 hours I have been unable to post to this blog.

Yea, oneblood, I thought that that was against the...

2009-06-26T16:19:53.856-07:00

Yea, oneblood, I thought that that was against the rules or something.

Oh good, the title wasn't accidental. Yeah, playi...

2009-06-25T17:33:19.521-07:00

Oh good, the title wasn't accidental. Yeah, playing around with absolutes seems to be a way to use some interesting sleight of hand tactics. When it comes down to it, very few claims that you can make and have any kind of evidence for could be absolute claims from a human perspective, due to, among other things, the possibility of the "brains in vats" scenario being true. The question "do you think it is absolutely true that there are no absolute truths" is an interesting way of playing with the idea in another way, mostly by forcing you to take an absolutist position in order to prove that a non-absolutist position is self-refuting. If one were to take the more accurate position that "there may be absolute truths out there, but we collectively are not fully aware of what they are, or possibly completely unable to access these truths" it would be harder to pull that kind of trick. In other words, it is only probably true that there are no absolute truths would be a good way to resolve the contradiction that they force you into by framing your arguments for you.

As for "objective morality"...if it exists I have no idea how we could find out what it is. Obviously, you could claim that divine revelation would be a prime way to get this information, something that atheism doesn't allow for. But, it isn't all that important, and, considering how modern morality actually seems to set itself to a slightly higher standard than anything provided for by purported revelation in an era where such concerns simply seemed less significant (e.g. rules specifically against slavery and rape), I really don't think "objective morality" is as important as it is claimed to be.

Yea, it puzzles me that these deep thinkers use th...

2009-06-25T09:59:51.480-07:00

Yea, it puzzles me that these deep thinkers use these kinds of language tricks to defend their points of view.

Are they really just trying to tell us that we can't prove a damned thing any more that they can, therefore they are just as 'right' as us?

And 'yea'(he-he), I thought that the title would get a reaction.

So yes, Pharisees believe in cunning linguists bef...

2009-06-24T22:37:40.184-07:00

So yes, Pharisees believe in cunning linguists before marriage.

I am a cunning linguist too. That's one secret of...

2009-06-24T22:25:06.874-07:00

I am a cunning linguist too.

That's one secret of a good Pharisee marriage. Pharisee women love cunning linguists.

Dental fricatives are somewhat of a turn on but it's really the labio velars, and alveolar trills that make a Pharisee woman know she's got a keeper.

A lot of times, I agree with you and can't find mu...

2009-06-24T20:52:08.203-07:00

A lot of times, I agree with you and can't find much to add. Like this one :-)

Spot on. Pliny too.

But, I will add "I really LOVE the title" :-D

I've never quite gotten this line of argument: unl...

2009-06-24T19:53:47.324-07:00

I've never quite gotten this line of argument: unless you believe in 'x' you will simply go off into a murderous rampage like festival from that old Star Trek episode about Landru. Only belief in x provides the necessary incentive to act in accordance with the Golden Rule.

Of course we have volumes of examples where pragmatism and common sense results in good behavior. One obvious one was the Cold War. Ours and their decision to not destroy each other had little to do with God and a lot to do with the fear of being 'done unto others'....

Finally of course, this moralism argument is a bait and switch. The existence of God in one form of the other is a separate argument from the justification of behavior.