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  1. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    Not everyone takes the two extremes of an ideal design, nor a totally blind process. There is middle areas to be had. Refuting ideal design does not refute an intelligent, purposeful process with suited functions that are poorly done. Nor does anyone need take the supernatural route for their to...
  2. osgart

    What started your spiritual path?

    I wanted to breakaway from popular culture and from Christian fundamentalism when I turned 30. The themes I find in spirituality, language, and somewhat from religion never left me, but I've always felt there was a better way of those things than what I found from any resources out there. So I...
  3. osgart

    Capitalism: why eternal growth is self-destructive

    Every economic system turns into a hierarchy of have's and have nots oppressed because of human nature to control and secure power. Fair for me, fend for yourself. Ideologies and systems always bend to the powers able to control the masses. There are really good forms of economy except for...
  4. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    The reason I'm atheist is that God by definition is an ideal designer and one who governs life. What I see is wasteful, inadequate trial and error with some degree of autonomous programming, and preplanning in nature. There must be a viable natural pathway for life to take root in the natural...
  5. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    People take it for granted that nature turns out anything useful at all to a living creature. If you can't understand what I mean by suited function I really don't know what else to say. It's different than an arbitrary function. Life isn't arbitrary functional. Life solves problems for...
  6. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    Qualities of being have no physical referent. Though people from a third person perspective associate qualities with brain processes; they are merely filling in gaps with presuppositions.
  7. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    A function can be anything life makes use of. A suited function is one that is unmistakably placed for the goals of a life form. Why would a human life form with a self aware intellect have such a tool as the human hand that can expertly manipulate objects in the environment? Sounds like a...
  8. osgart

    Are You Reverent?

    I have reverence for the dead that contributed to the freedoms we all enjoy. I thank them that I don't live in North Korea. People of kindness I am glad for.
  9. osgart

    Incurring Moral Obligation

    Well supposing there is a God of justice, people fall into two paths: 1) destroying innocent life 2) being for the cause of all innocence The first path obligates and owes their life to justice for robbing life. The second path there is no just law against such people whom are naturally just...
  10. osgart

    What are the minimum requirements for a Creator of the universe?

    The minimum requirements are a transcendent reality of qualities and values that are bound to the physical possibilities that have narrowed considerably to our laws of the natural world. God may or may not be bound to the transcendent reality. The transcendent reality would be the medium of...
  11. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    I'm atheist, but not naturalist. The life manifest in the world is far from perfect, and has no ideal design. But I would be foolish to think that it doesn't exhibit intelligence or some kinds of purposes. It's more of trial and error than design. The qualitative aspects of life can't be...
  12. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    Naturalism assumes there is nothing uniquely special about life on earth. Life is a particular arrangement of physical causes that give rise to conscious intelligence. We are nothing more than chemistry. Naturalism is never questioned by the naturalist. Everything is a result of mindless laws...
  13. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    No it doesn't. I don't see an ideally designed nature. You assumed I did all on your own. I'm not going to argue extremes with anyone. Naturalism assumes the mundane causes function. Under naturalism we can't expect any thriving function at all. It doesn't get off the ground. I'm atheist, but...
  14. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    You are basically declaring that all functions in nature have no purpose. No amount of evidence would convince you otherwise. What exactly leads you away from purpose that it's not even considered?
  15. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    This doesn't reflect anything I said or thought.
  16. osgart

    How do you detect "design"?

    Science is only going to get the physical behavior of physical phenomena. It's only going to tackle how things work and behave in a physical manner from observation coupled with math. Science cannot answer why questions about purposes, and intelligence in nature. That immediately falls into...
  17. osgart

    Extremists. Which ones are the worst etc

    People that have the attitude that their lives are superior and that a lot of others lives don't measure up nor suit their arrogant standards I would consider to be extreme and damaging. Also people that can't maintain faithful, loyal relationships based on healthy moral principles are...
  18. osgart

    Why do you follow your religion?

    Virtues are my religion plus the eternal foundational reality of pure infinite non living and living intelligence. I follow my religion because I find it to be true. I'm an individual drop in this ocean. So is every life form. Reality is an illusion bound to the ultimate reality. Illusions...
  19. osgart

    Can we change what we desire?

    There's the reality and the fantasy of each desire. Once one dissociates from the fantasy, or imaginary aspects of the desire, they can begin to look at the reality of the desire, and thereafter using truer associations with what is desired I think the desire can lessen its impact and power. So...
  20. osgart

    What is Evidence?

    How would you model an abstract quality to the brain? What causes you to associate one with the other? The question is does physics operate mathematically and why do they work so well together? Is math merely a system designed to mimic what happens in the real world? Why are math discoveries...
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