in the shell

What I interpret Animae as saying is that there are no real values, no real morality, because none of this can be tested by empirical science. It’s not so much a problem of morals not being possible to be test; it’s rather that morals have an inherent flaw already in a conceptual stage. By creating...

Then tell me why different philosophers have different ideas of what natural rights are? It’s as if saying that just because we can conceive God he must exist. To compare it with science is ultimately flawed, since in science there is a single explanation that is universally true, while ethics have ...

Natural rights don't have to be conceived by anyone, that's kinda' the whole point. Natural rights are universal rights that are seen as inherent in the nature of the world or in the nature of the entity they refer to*, and not contingent on human actions or beliefs. e.g. a carnivore's right to eat...

Well they may not look like humans but we could just treat them the same as we do other people. We already only expierence life from our own point of view. If we can treat other people well with this handicap, then the same applies to anything. For a while there may be the 'black' or the 'jew' type...

There is no such thing as inherent or natural rights; rights are just something we have created to our convenience. The main issues with you’re your questions is that you don’t define life. This definition must be objectively viable and something which can be generally agreed and does not contradict...

An area of interest that I have had for some time yet never explored to a greater extent is the origin of music. Now, I am not talking about the cultural or historical origins of music but rather how it works. Forget about scales, time signatures and notes. What I thing is of interest is the higher ...

I’m still here, I just consider the original purpose of this thread fulfilled and therefore I see it as meaningless to carry on discussions.

I have seen the Matrix and from an intellectual perspective I don’t find it too impressive, while it does present a variety of ideas it does not really explore them and the way most of them are presented seem rather shallow, if you have the slightest insight in the concept. I never bothered to see a...

This is pretty much what you're saying. You claim that it doesn't matter whether Christianity (I assume that's the religion you're pushing from your using it as an example of the positive things religion can do earlier) is true or not, so long as it holds society together, leads to cooperation, etc...

So which are you doing? Defending your idea or not? It's a bit difficult to make sense of you, when your first sentence says one thing and second the complete opposite. And you've so far defended the idea that it's OK to spread a lie, if it makes the people feel good - contributes the "unity&q...

I am looking for intellectual fiction and I am wondering if anyone has some good suggestions. I don’t really care about the medium so anime, movies, books, music whatever.

If you defend an idea which you know or presume to be false, you are a liar, or possibly a salesman. In either case, I have a little reason to trust you in matters of importance. Ideas have power, yes. Because of that you should be careful of who you get your ideas from and what is their agenda. Af...

I'm sorry, but you made it rather clear that you. as an individual, possess faith to a deity and thus are advertising it for the rest of us. Personally, I hold rather dim view for pushers of a religion, or even faith in general. . Well you seem to have made up your mind quite clearly about that so ...

I don’t recall actually claiming to believe in any God in my first post and what I believe (or don’t believe) in is of no relevance to this discussion. I see it as a necessity in any attempted discussion to entirely disregard all my subjective values and believe which are better suited for a differe...

Every now and then while reading treads on various forums I come across either in some users signature or in a post a typical “religion bashing”. At first I did not put much mind to it but as it became a more and more common occurrence I started to put some thought to it (hence this tread). Now I am...