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Also, ponder the difficulty of answering the question: Why is there something rather than nothing? I'm not sure that we can reasonably expect satisfactory answers to a question of this sort. If you have any interest in reading philosophical jabs at this question you could check out Robert...

Theologians don't have much success on these issues either. As an example I quote the following from (1994) Catechism of the Catholic Church (note, this is their official publication and so is not a 'strawman'): 296 We believe that God needs no pre existent thing or any help in order to...

I was waiting around for your thoughts on my comments about your perception of flaw in the theory of evolution (in particular my suggestion that to claim that the theory is flawed on the basis of an incomplete fossil record is to fundamentally misunderstand scientific method). Until then I...

¿Qué?

For good measure:

The theory of evolution doesn't require that we be able to find a perfectly continuous fossil record. To require such strong evidence is to misunderstand the scientific method - you shouldn't expect a 100% airtight, knockdown proof. Perhaps from some areas of physics you might, or physical...

I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't feel that it is within your power. Nonetheless, I'm not in need of help on this count. I love life and try to make the most of it.

Also, note that aesthetic/moral appeal and truth are not coextensive.

Haha, but that question seems to imply that we have a choice about whether or not we bother in the first place. That we bother is determined. (On a side note it is also worth noting that depressive apathy is of little utility, in the evolutionary sense).

Well yes, I would blame god. I fail to accept salvation because my cognitive predispositions deny me such an option. To my judging eye, the metaphysical claims of religion are on par with phrenology (and other pseudo-sciences) and, as such, I am simply unable to accept these claims as true. At...

Then call me wicked. Also, what do you make of the possible contradictory reading of"god's invisible qualities have been clearly seen"?

Free will is a load of bunk. Why don't I accept the truth of Christ? Because I see no reason to. As best as I can tell there is scant evidence which would make such a belief reasonable - that is, according to my individual sense of rationality. So perhaps my sense of rationality is flawed...

I seem to have shifted further left on traditional values, but the rest remains much the same: Political Outlook: Left (-59.1%) Economic Policy: Left (-67.4%) Social Policy: Centre-Left (-26.7%) Traditional values: Far left (-96.2%)

What would it mean for HIV/AIDS to be a 'gay disease'?

Do you think that such a thing is deserved? If not, is it really the kind of club you want to join?

My greatest fears realised. (On the story: I'd like to know a lot more about the perpetrator. It sounds like he is a very ill individual.)

Maybe you're using too strong a notion of autonomy? As pointed out by Schopenhauer, we do what we will (that is, what our 'will' would have us do), but we cannot will/choose what it is we will in the first place. Succinctly: we do what we want, but can't necessarily choose what we want. To...

Your definition of 'agnostic' is too strong - it should really be someone who neither believes that 'god exists' nor that 'god does not exist'. At present my views don't really fit in with the poll.

Certainly, you can argue that. I was mainly just stating what seems to be a contingent, empirically verified fact about human psychology. Whether the '... comes to appreciate life in the face of death' predicate necessarily applies to other beings similar to ourselves is another matter...

Also, a problem in this debate is the vagueness of the concept 'death'. E.g. are we best to define it in terms of the absence of experience, or in terms of loss (of loved ones/things) or in terms of non-being etc...? Chadd, if you want a good overview of death anxiety issues I would...