Evidence for design

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Sheldon's picture
You may believe What You wish

You may believe What You wish. I stated my intention to end this discourse as you are denying reality in its entirety for a fiction you admitted was pure assumption.

Others have already decided they don't wish to engage your claims. Though I'd be amazed if it's for the reasons you have stated.

Someone's picture
@Sheldon

@Sheldon

I am not surprised you are stopping.

Because I am not surprised that you decided to stop without providing one piece of evidence for what you claimed, regardless of me writing:
---
You have claimed that your belief that reality contains a material universe is an objective fact, and that you would not claim it to be so unless you have objective evidence for it being so. But you have no objective evidence for it being so, and you know that (which is why when you have been repeatedly asked to provide one piece of evidence to back your claim up you repeatedly fail to do so). So you are a liar. You do claim things are objective facts even when you have no objective (or subjective) evidence to even support those claims let alone prove them.
---

(If it is not an objective fact that you are a liar, then you could provide one piece of objective evidence to support your claim that it is a fact reality contains a material universe. What are you hoping people to believe, that you could, but you just don't feel like it? Come on Sheldon, how stupid do you think the atheists on the forum are !? It seems a bit late to claim that you were just delusional and hadn't realised that you hadn't any objective evidence for what you were claiming was an objective fact, and so weren't lying (which I consider to imply intent to state a falsehood))

Nor am I surprised that stopped trying to point out a problem with the arguments.

You final shot seems to be that my belief (which was not a part of the arguments) is just an assumption. But actually it can be pretty much reasoned: The arguments indicate a theist reality, and Occam's razor gets rid of the physical. Whereas your's is just a belief with no evidence to support it.

Old man shouts at clouds's picture
@ Someone

@ Someone
Nobody really wants to engage with you because you have no argument. Just a pseudo intellectual mish mash of meaningless verbiage. In my short time on these forums I have seen pretend or faux intellectuals like yourself use any type of verbal gymnastics to prove what is not and then claim victory for a theistic belief. In reality (yes, that hard core stuff you "assume" doesnt exist) you have said nothing of substance and proved less by your constant circling and demonstrable idiocy. I would rather argue a week with Breezy the Dementor than have any truck with you. Sheldon nailed your 'argument' (such as it was) and you don't like it. Now be off, you are becoming a tedious distraction to entertaining debate.

Sheldon's picture
It's rather fitting he ends

It's rather fitting he ends as he has always posted, with a torrent of informal fallacies, this time ad hominem.

It's a shame he didn't open with the fact he was denying reality, the existence of the universe, and of course all scientific knowledge which only makes sense in a physical natural universe.

It might have saved some bandwidth. I partly blame myself for not asking sooner, but to be fair it's hard to gauge how much of the opening verbiage was idiocy and hubris, and how much was a complete detachment from reality.

"The physical universe doesn't exist, it is just an idea in the mind of a deity"

That's bat shit crazy, there's no other description for it. I liked the grandiose claims at the end for intellectual & logical rigour though, damn funny.

Old man shouts at clouds's picture
@ Sheldon

@ Sheldon
Agreed, I couldn't credit my eyes when he came out with the "imagination" line. Would have saved the energy output of a good sized hamlet if he had been up front with that ...all that typing energy! Still, it was entertaining to see him swagger off still wagging his tail as if he had gained an important intellectual victory. I think Breezy the Dementor could spend a useful few hours in conversation with him. maybe his admiring professors could learn something about diagnosing 'batshit crazy' at the same time.

Someone's picture
@ Sheldon

@ Sheldon

What argument are you claiming I have made that involved an ad hominid claim against you?

I called you are liar in post http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/evidence-design?page=6... , but that was just an observation. It wasn't part of an argument, and I notice that you didn't even attempt to contest my assertion that it is a fact that you are a liar, by pointing out one piece of objective evidence to support your claim that it is a fact reality contains a material universe.

Further more you are aware that my belief was not a part of the arguments. So trying to deceive some gullible atheists that it was just shows how helpless you are when faced with the arguments, and how low you will go.

I made clear that no theist theory needed to be assumed when explaining the arguments to the readers (http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/evidence-design?page=7...):
---
1) The fine tuning of the experience.

With physicalist theories there is no reason to have favoured the expectation of any particular physical activity to have correlated with experience over any other physical activity, or to have favoured what the experience that correlated with physical activity would be like.

Whereas theist theorists can explain why the experience that correlates to certain physical activity is like it is rather than being a flash of light every time a neuron fires for example. The latter wouldn't have been fit for purpose (making moral judgements based on it).

So it is a fine tuning argument, but the fine tuning of the experience, rather than the fine tuning of the physics constants, or the fine tuning of the planet's proximity to the sun, which could be explained by a multiverse, or the number of planets respectively. The fine tuning of the experience seems to me to be taken for granted and thus ignored, yet it part of the most telling arguments for design.

2) Our ability to respond to the experience.

A theist theorist can explain it without it being explicitly observed (quantum randomness, and fluctuations of kinetic energy, and a being (God for example) which knows the fine adjustments that can be made (explainable by chaos theory) and the means to make them). Whereas with physicalist theories there is not (there is nothing that knows how the brain is configured). The theist theorists can therefore explain how it is that my form can express that the person experiencing having it is infallible when it comes to the statement that "reality is not one in which none experience", for example.

Explanation:

Both arguments (the first, and the reworded second) are about comparing theories. Theist theories and physicalist theories. The theist theories are obviously theories involving the existence of deities, whereas the physicalist ones aren't. It is not assumed that the theist theories are correct, so there is no question begging that they are. The first argument uses a fine tuning argument to argue that the evidence favours the theist theories. The second argument examines the compatibility of the theist theories and physicalist theories with the evidence, and points out that none of the physicalist theories are compatible. So the favouring of the theist theories is done by argument. There is no assuming the conclusion, and as mentioned no question begging. Also neither argument concludes that it is not possible that physicalism could be correct, as neither perform an argument from ignorance such as arguing that because we lack physicalist theories which would change the evaluation, that physicalism *must* be false. They are just evaluations of where the evidence currently points to with respect to theist and physicalist theories.
---

NewSkeptic's picture
Are you afraid to take on

Are you afraid to take on Chimesandstorm? We need to get you two large brains together, I gotta believe with that much brain power aligned, the sky is the limit. C'mon, the world needs you two working together. Pretty, pretty please!!!!!!!!!

This is not meant to mock you. You would actually have to take a few steps forward to deserve a proper mocking.

http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/someone-chimesandstorm...

Someone's picture
@NewSkeptic

@NewSkeptic

Given that I have taken off my metaphorical gauntlet and slapped you around the face with it, and you have been able to do nothing in response, I don't think you are really in a position to even dream about mocking me.

I do find your shamelessness amazing though, given you have been challenged to paraphrase the arguments and point out a flaw in them, and failed. Along with all the atheists on this forum. Why don't you try to find an atheist that could paraphrase the arguments and point out an problem with them.

This is not intended to mock you by the way. I am just pointing out how it could be seen metaphorically.

If you hadn't actually been able to follow the arguments, I did a post which provided some help:

http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/evidence-design?page=7...

NewSkeptic's picture
@Someone

@Someone

Not a surprise that you just don't get it but I'll repeat one more time. Your arguments are worthless, trash, they make no sense at all. They've already been destroyed, Humpty cannot be put back together, no amount of obtuse verbiage can save them. ID is ridiculous, not only destroyed here, but it has so many other holes that you won't address that show how imbecilic the so called theory is.

There is no argument you've made that makes any sense or needs further comment. I've seen better arguments for the Easter Bunny.

Ok, got your ad hominin ready? Ready, set, GO.

Someone's picture
@NewSkeptic

@NewSkeptic

You write:
---
Your arguments are worthless, trash, they make no sense at all. They've already been destroyed, Humpty cannot be put back together, no amount of obtuse verbiage can save them. ID is ridiculous, not only destroyed here, but it has so many other holes that you won't address that show how imbecilic the so called theory is.

There is no argument you've made that makes any sense or needs further comment. I've seen better arguments for the Easter Bunny.

Ok, got your ad hominin ready? Ready, set, GO.
---

NewSkeptic a.k.a. Dorothy: You don't seem to understand that you need to support your arguments. It isn't enough to just wish how you would like it to be. And we have met before on this thread http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/evidence-design?page=7...

You were effectively given an open goal, but you weren't able to even take a shot that required a save.

While slightly boring, I don't mind posters like you because you help undermine the atheist propagated idea that atheists are somehow "intelligent". As every atheist on this forum that has replied so far has done. So don't go off feeling special.

NewSkeptic's picture
Wow, I'm really hurt.

Wow, I'm really hurt. Someone who actually believes in ridiculous ID thinks that I'm not intelligent. Gosh golly gee that hurts.

Someone's picture
@NewSkeptic

@NewSkeptic

I am not trying to hurt you but wake you up. Were you expecting arguments that not only you but others on the atheist forum were given shots at, but collectively failed to paraphrase and point out a flaw with? Your response could be that you have seen responses that have pointed out a flaw and the problem was that I did not acknowledge them. If you believed that then that is fine. If you were just another disingenuous atheist though then it is not. So here is what I will do. I will re-post the arguments and an explanation to make it easier to understand them. Then you, if you are not another disingenuous atheist then point out the problem, because I think both argument (1) and argument (2) would qualify as ID arguments. Obviously even an atheist would realise that rebuttals to other ID arguments do not count as rebuttals to these unless they were appropriate. Presumably you can comprehend that. So go ahead Dorothy paraphrase the arguments, and point out a flaw. Guess what: I predict you won't. One reason is that you didn't do before http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/evidence-design?page=7... . Another reason is that it was open to all the atheists on the forum and basically no one had done better than you. That isn't something to be proud of by the way. The bar was sooooo low. Basically your failure defined it.

Just to help readers notice if you pathetically try to make out a straw man argument that had already been pointed out, I will link to a synopsis for new readers http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/evidence-design?page=7... and provide a the synopsis for the reader's convenience:
---
) The fine tuning of the experience.

With physicalist theories there is no reason to have favoured the expectation of any particular physical activity to have correlated with experience over any other physical activity, or to have favoured what the experience that correlated with physical activity would be like.

Whereas theist theorists can explain why the experience that correlates to certain physical activity is like it is rather than being a flash of light every time a neuron fires for example. The latter wouldn't have been fit for purpose (making moral judgements based on it).

So it is a fine tuning argument, but the fine tuning of the experience, rather than the fine tuning of the physics constants, or the fine tuning of the planet's proximity to the sun, which could be explained by a multiverse, or the number of planets respectively. The fine tuning of the experience seems to me to be taken for granted and thus ignored, yet it part of the most telling arguments for design.

2) Our ability to respond to the experience.

A theist theorist can explain it without it being explicitly observed (quantum randomness, and fluctuations of kinetic energy, and a being (God for example) which knows the fine adjustments that can be made (explainable by chaos theory) and the means to make them). Whereas with physicalist theories there is not (there is nothing that knows how the brain is configured). The theist theorists can therefore explain how it is that my form can express that the person experiencing having it is infallible when it comes to the statement that "reality is not one in which none experience", for example.

Explanation:

Both arguments (the first, and the reworded second) are about comparing theories. Theist theories and physicalist theories. The theist theories are obviously theories involving the existence of deities, whereas the physicalist ones aren't. It is not assumed that the theist theories are correct, so there is no question begging that they are. The first argument uses a fine tuning argument to argue that the evidence favours the theist theories. The second argument examines the compatibility of the theist theories and physicalist theories with the evidence, and points out that none of the physicalist theories are compatible. So the favouring of the theist theories is done by argument. There is no assuming the conclusion, and as mentioned no question begging. Also neither argument concludes that it is not possible that physicalism could be correct, as neither perform an argument from ignorance such as arguing that because we lack physicalist theories which would change the evaluation, that physicalism *must* be false. They are just evaluations of where the evidence currently points to with respect to theist and physicalist theories.
---

Tin-Man's picture
Re: "NewSkeptic a.k.a.

Re: "NewSkeptic a.k.a. Dorothy"

Whaaaat????.... Hey, NewSkeptic! You been hiding something from me?... Is that really YOU, Dorothy? Daaaaamn! How ya been, girlfriend? How's that little doggie nowadays, too? Still chasing lions and dragging old men out from behind curtains, I hope. You still sportin' those rockin' red shoes? I imagine they made quite an impression once you got back home to that black and white world or yours. Seen Strawboy or Leo much lately?

Tin-Man's picture
@Old Man

@Old Man

Hey, when you gonna get in on the betting action in the "Chimes vs. Someone" thread? The bookies are still adjusting the odds, but side bets are running rampant.

Old man shouts at clouds's picture
@ TM

@ TM
I did reply, in my extensive studies of woo, and even esoteric non physicality of the woo beyond the experiental woo I came across a quatrain that predicts this conflict and even mentions you! So it must be true, I mean,well, not Tin Man exactly but it cant be anything else! I expereincalised it and noted the physical physicalistics of the prose and realized that not even the cursed Randi could best this!

Someone's picture
@Old man shouts...

@Old man shouts...

Sheldon tried to argue for a few.

1) Sheldon claimed that personal experience alone was not sufficient to validate a belief. The problem was he could not state what other evidence other than personal experience was required to validate the belief that at least part of reality exists.

2) Sheldon claimed that the argument involved question begging. That it involved the reader to assume that at least one theist accounts was true. Problem with that claim is that it doesn't.

3) Sheldon claimed that the argument involved an argument from ignorance, that it states that because we do not physicalist theories that the evidence points to, that it means that there could not be any. But that is not the case either.

Stuff like that was pointed out in the post:

http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/evidence-design?page=7...

If you think Sheldon did point out a fallacy then paraphrase the arguments and point out the fallacy. I have blatantly thrown down the gauntlet for an atheist on this forum to do so, but none have. Not paraphrasing the arguments, and pointing out fallacies with strawmen arguments doesn't count as pointing out a problem. Assuming you are not a senile old man, then presumably you will manage to understand that.

Old man shouts at clouds's picture
@ Someone

@ Someone

I have no need to directly participate. I have watched and read every single one of these posts and marvelled at Sheldon's patience with you.

Your arguments are bunkum. Your assumption of the intellectual high ground as laughable as it is false. Your arguments have been dissected, paraphrased, returned in bite size pieces so that even a febrile understanding (like yours) should be able to assimilate the concepts.

The only thing I see clinging to a flagpole, as the dreadnought of your assumptions slide below the waves of reason, is a tiny scrap of unassailable ego, waving frantically to get the grown up's attention.

You are now boring, you have no argument, you have only repetition and ad hominems left in your pitifully inadequate quiver of nonsense. Sheldon did you the favour of at least politely shredding your dung heap of arguments and fallacies.

You lost, you were shredded, spat out and dismissed as a purveyor of qauckery as, in truth, you are. . Now do fuck off with your tedious repetitive nonsense.

NewSkeptic's picture
@Old man shouts

@Old man shouts

I'm nominating this as post of the year! I can't wait for your acceptance speech.

Every word priceless and true, I wish I were such a wordsmith.

Sheldon's picture
As another side note, I

As another side note, I notice there hasn't been any evidence offered in response to the http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/what-if-we-atheist-her... question

Sun, 07/01/2018 - 16:21 Permalink
Someone
Someone's picture
What evidence did you have that objects corresponding to your experience existed in a "physical" world? (consider a Matrix type situation)

Kick a stranger in the nuts, it should be ample evidence that our experience of reality meshes (painfully) with theirs. You're asking a question designed to be unfalsifiable, in religious apologetics I have experienced this usually precedes an argument from or appeal to ignorance fallacy. It's another attempt to reverse the burden of proof, and please no tedious lecture on the phrase as we all know it's also a legal term, it is meant in it's epistemological sense here.

Is there any objective evidence we live in "The Matrix"?

Until there is I don't believe the claim, same with deities. Agnosticism, the belief that nothing is know or can be known about something, applies to all unfalsifiable claims. It goes without saying I don't believe claims when nothing is or can known about them, otherwise you could believe literally anything.

arakish's picture
My hat is off to you dude.

My hat is off to you dude. This seemingly never ending copy and paste war waged by Someone has made me quit.

Kudos to you dude.

https://i.imgur.com/7bFN0wO.jpg

rmfr

Sapporo's picture
Someone: State what else is

Someone: State what else is needed other than personal experience to realise that at least part of reality is experiencing.

There is no evidence that a god without a creator is needed for someone to think that personal experience shows that at least part of reality is experiencing. Why are you asking others what else is needed other than personal experience?

arakish's picture
@Someone,

@Someone,

Yes, I read that post and the subsequent ones where you repeated the same thing, and added other stuff.

http://www.atheistrepublic.com/forums/debate-room/evidence-design?page=3#comment-108160

Your premise:

If
(1) You are part of reality
and
(2) You are experiencing
then
(3) At least part of reality is experiencing

Okay.

1) You are part of reality

Yes, I am.

2) You are experiencing

I am experiencing what? I hate making assumptions, but I am assuming you meant: 2) You are experiencing reality. If correct with my assumption, then, yes, I am experiencing reality as I live my life. However, how can I know it is true reality and not a fabrication à la The Matrix?

Now here is where we get into the "define reality" question. But I ain't gonna go there.

3) At least part of reality is experiencing

Remember one of my previous posts? "Reality experiences NOTHING!"

First, you need to define what reality is supposed to be experiencing. Here, I am going to have make another assumption. Did you mean: 3) At least part of reality is experience? If correct in this assumption, then, yes, part of MY reality is the experience I have had through the decades I have spent in this reality.

I think what you meant to say is: 3) At least part of reality is experiencing life/reality

In this case, then the choices you offer:

3a) All of reality is experiencing
or
3b) None of reality is experiencing

should have been:

3a) All of reality is experiencing life/reality
or
3b) None of reality is experiencing life/reality

and, the answer would be, yes, life/reality is experiencing life/reality.

rmfr

P.S. — Sheldon responded first and I like his better. But I still posted mine anyway.

Sheldon's picture
http://www.atheistrepublic
Sheldon's picture
http://www.atheistrepublic
Sheldon's picture
Trolltacular....

Trolltacular....

Sheldon's picture
Trolltacular....

Mental note to self...

No more engaging creatures that live under bridges.

arakish's picture
Here is the Note to Self I

Here is the Note to Self I referenced in another thread...

rmfr

Sapporo's picture
For all of the evidence to

For all of the evidence to show that reality had a creator, it would have to be proved that reality is not eternal. But this is not something that can be proved.

Sapporo's picture
@Someone KNOWS that

@Someone KNOWS that experience of reality is proof of something which cannot be observed, but apparently it is wrong to say that I KNOW that something which cannot be experienced is not a part of reality.

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