... There is a philosophy of evidence which has replaced all the others, including those of the "ancients": the scientific method. For the first time, a tool...
I don't understand the aversion to the scientific method as the best way of seeking the truth. It implies double blind testing and testing of hypotheses...
Richard, Michael: Non-free-will is based on the lack of evidence for free will. It's the most rational conclusion given the lack of such evidence. If evidence...
John, Thanks for a forthright and excellent post. Einstein wrote (from Ideas and Opinions): "To the sphere of religion belongs the faith in the possibility...
Truth is certainly not in the eye of the beholder, if it were then opinions would all be true, which they're not. Science can't claim to ever have the full...
Has anyone heard from Heinz (Sternberg)? I sent him an email recently and didn't receive a reply. Heinz, if you're around please drop me a line, I'd like to...
Tom, Thanks for the reference; it was very interesting reading. From my personal perspective, it adds to a list of reasons for being cautious of Steven Jay...
Fred, I'm in the process of reading a new book, The Plausibility of Life: Resolving Darwin's Dilemma, by Marc Kirschner and John Gerhart (Yale U. Press, 2005),...
[Recipients: Applied Naturalism, Determinism, Naturalism Philosophy Forum, Causality Club, other interested parties] In his essay at Edge.Org's forum on...
Sonny, Sounds *very* interesting -- I will definitely check it out! Thanks again. Fred ... Life: Resolving Darwin's Dilemma, by Marc Kirschner and John Gerhart...
Fred: I agree that a should is in the "is". Even though we can at best make intelligent guesses at what the "should" is, we "should" do that. I'm not convinced...
Ken, << Fred: I agree that a should is in the "is". Even though we can at best make intelligent guesses at what the "should" is, we "should" do that. >> These...
Fred: What I like about your ideas is they add to the positive naturalistic reasons to get out of bed in the morning. I didn't mean to sound dismissive;...
Correction: I said, "We incorporate everything in our genetic line that came before us..." I meant the *essence* of everything that came before us. ... at ... ...
Fred: I think the "should" is to be found in your theory of pleasure/pain: we "should" relieve pain, and we should increase pleasure. It's in our human,...
Ken, Thanks for the clarification -- very cool. << In the meantime please consider another, not alternative but additional purpose of life: simple unanxious...
Fred, You raise some interesting points, which I'd like to explore by assuming the role of "devil's advocate" (figuratively, of course; I'm not really such a...
Ken, I think I understand your point here, but I want to be sure. Are suggesting that "is" and "ought/should" are one and the same? Sonny ... From: Ken...
Sonny: Our personal "should" is avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. Our collective "should" is a system designed to maximize our collective pleasure and pain....
Fred: Good point, the other necessary side of the coin. One definition I've heard of happiness is the state of optimal tension. We need to experience both...
Ken, You've reached some expansively stated conclusions regarding "is" and "ought" (or "should," but most of the literature exploring this issue uses "ought")...
Sonny, You raise some worthy questions which will take me a while to answer in sufficient depth. Please bear with me. Fred ... assuming the role of "devil's...
Ken, Good connection! Pleasure/pain is fundamental. We are feeling creatures. We greet people we care about with comments such as, "How are you feeling today?"...
Sonny: I approach it from a purely practical point of view. Yes, it's probably a really difficult thing to sort out on a philosophical level, but in my opinion...
