tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post4752797135643107125..comments2023-10-14T09:40:06.690-05:00Comments on Jean Kazez: Choosing to Limit Our ChoicesJean Kazezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-80499068056711190802010-04-19T15:00:40.443-05:002010-04-19T15:00:40.443-05:00rtk, I've got to rummage through the NYT and ...rtk, I've got to rummage through the NYT and find that article. I read about that at another website and ... gagged.Jean Kazeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-34437107874696135022010-04-19T11:34:40.888-05:002010-04-19T11:34:40.888-05:00Just to add to my previous comment, have we quanti...Just to add to my previous comment, have we quantified the suffering and harm caused to OTHERS by theist belief systems?<br /><br />Theism may well result in greater well-being for theists, but what about the rest of us?Paul Huttonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-60484163087907417862010-04-19T11:11:03.270-05:002010-04-19T11:11:03.270-05:00Sounds like a great book. It's on my list too....Sounds like a great book. It's on my list too. <br /><br />This does indeed highlight the crucial play-off between truth and happiness. <br /><br />I'd say truth matters more when the consequences of getting it wrong or right increase. Basically, if there was no harm in religion - and only happiness - then who cares what people believe.<br /><br />But as we know, that ain't always so.Paul Huttonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-69198507120817360502010-04-19T09:32:15.578-05:002010-04-19T09:32:15.578-05:00The problem is that theist evangelizing has a diff...The problem is that theist evangelizing has a different purpose and value (for the theist) than atheist evangelizing. The goal of theist evangelizing is to save the other's soul, that is, the theist evangelizer is giving the highest good to the convert. The atheist evangelizer cannot promise so much.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-31920923871638825092010-04-19T08:52:46.667-05:002010-04-19T08:52:46.667-05:00Will add this book to my list. Sounds right up my ...Will add this book to my list. Sounds right up my alley.Fausthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14221763658202924449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-17448925501829240682010-04-19T07:38:25.133-05:002010-04-19T07:38:25.133-05:00Re: veganism, mentioned at the end of your note ab...Re: veganism, mentioned at the end of your note about NYT. In same issue is an article about coffee berries passing beneficially through the digestive system of civets, emerging as extremely expensive fragrant beans used for the yummiest coffee in the world. But off limits for vegans? Its association with animal intestines is not just tossed off. It's part of the brew.rtkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11565006451158819782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-53613591706520970302010-04-18T23:19:10.478-05:002010-04-18T23:19:10.478-05:00Jean- I think there might be something wrong with ...Jean- I think there might be something wrong with atheist evangelizing.... Because we'd be robbing people of their happiness.<br /><br />But on the flip side, there would be something wrong with theist evangelizing, since we'd be moving away from the truth. <br /><br />Better that everyone left everyone else's spiritual beliefs alone.Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08627147979307495870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-54966302844161841652010-04-18T21:40:00.324-05:002010-04-18T21:40:00.324-05:00Wayne, It's reasonable to think of knowing the...Wayne, It's reasonable to think of knowing the truth as an element of wellbeing, but hard to believe it's the element that takes precedence over everything else. If believers are better off in many other ways, then ethically there's got to be a problem with atheist evangelizing. It's one thing to make yourself a bit more miserable (no problem!), another to do that to others.<br /Jean Kazeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-19646623326569308112010-04-18T21:05:35.824-05:002010-04-18T21:05:35.824-05:00Taylor: Can you explain why Dawkins argues in a ...Taylor: Can you explain why Dawkins argues in a circle? This is an innocent question. Logic isn't my strong point. Thank you.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-12345579060256291232010-04-18T20:19:05.592-05:002010-04-18T20:19:05.592-05:00If atheism is not simply a positive belief that th...If atheism is not simply a positive belief that the Abrahamic god does not exist, but the stronger positive belief that there is no Intelligence at the root of existence, then surely it's agnosticism and not atheism that is the truly sceptical position. Empirical evidence can be adduced for or against the existence of the Abrahamic god. But Richard Dawkins commits an elementary mistake in Taylornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-20653621268993403112010-04-18T16:36:31.132-05:002010-04-18T16:36:31.132-05:00This is a tricky issue for me. I think there is i...This is a tricky issue for me. I think there is intrinsic value to truth, and so people should believe the truth, not because it makes them happy, but because its the truth. So we should convert theists into atheists... Its just more true. <br /><br />But..... It does make them less happy. And I've got strong consequentialist leanings. I don't like taking things away from people Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08627147979307495870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-43377934795652548052010-04-18T16:31:23.524-05:002010-04-18T16:31:23.524-05:00What if freedom is an integral part, perhaps the ...What if freedom is an integral part, perhaps the most important part, of well-being? I recall that Simone de Beauvoir in the Second Sex explicitly says that she is not interested in making women happier, but in making them freer. Freedom involves risks.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.com