Forum Replies Created
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One reason we don’t want to generalize about religion per se is that it takes so many forms. Actually according to one poll a few years ago “just over half of scientists (51%) believe in some form of deity or higher power; specifically, 33% of scientists say they believe in God, while 18% believe in a universal spirit or higher power.” So for many, science and some kind of faith are not opposed things. This of course contradicts the idea that anti-scientific whack jobs
And to be honest with you, as atheistic and philosophically materialist as I am (and I am), I count lectures from atheists about why religion is bad about the same as I count conversion sermons from the zealously religious. I don’t censor it, or try to hush it, but my glaze over and I go to another room.
It’s interesting that the number of scientists that identify as atheists varies depending on their discipline. The highest number of believers are in the social sciences whereas the fewest are in biology and physics. This makes sense to me because they are the two sciences that’s findings are constantly contradicting religious dogma.
As far as arguments about religion go, as a rule I don’t try to convince people of faith that their diety of choice doesn’t exist. Many people ‘need’ their faith. Often they have little else in their lives so I don’t want to take something away that means so much to them. But I will argue with people about the major organized religions and the horrors they’ve caused. That’s just historical fact and thus fair game.
But that doesn’t counter the great amount of harm done by a very few hyper-religious people. Pence, Cruz, Santorum etc.
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Well, i dont agree that its a ‘very few’ hyper-religious humans.
There’s Billions of em. With a B.w
vWV,
I can’t speak for Nittany, of course, but I think he was pointing out that great harm can come from just a few hyper-religious humans — which is a rather nice way of phrasing things. I don’t think he meant there were only a few in existence.
Yeah. Certainly there are a great number of hyper-religious people. But here in the US I would say they are in the minority. While most people are ‘believers’ I don’t think most people are hyper-religious. But that perception can be shaped by where you live. I live in VT, and out of the hundreds of people I’ve met I know of only two who would fall in that category. In central Pa there were a lot more, as there would be in WV I am sure. Of course, this would depend on how we define ‘hyper-religious’…
Of course I think we’d be better off if religion didn’t exist at all.
Faith is the enemy of reason.
I would not agree with that. My own view is more ‘agnostic-ish.’
I’d say we dont/cant ‘know’ if life/world/universe was ‘meant to be here.’My own view of fundamental questions like that is “its a mystery”
w
vWell, it’s true we can’t say with absolute certainty that we are the product of random chance, but everything we currently know about evolution and the origin of the universe would suggest its so.
But it is possible we were put here for a purpose…just like it’s possible that 9/11 was carried out by Amish insurgents despite no evidence to support it and a ton of evidence to suggest otherwise.
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Well, but i just dont think thats persuasive. The “everything we currently know about evolution…suggests it so”.
I think that statement ignores the context. That context being…the Universe is like…an ocean… and human knowledge is like a drop of water.
w
v
“I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with.” ― PlatoIn fact in GOT class and gender inequities are constant themes and issues. They are not stable things the way they are in Tolkien.
I should say that they are not ideologically stable things the way they are in Tolkien.
That is, GOT is not a story about progress toward democracy and social democracy.
But the ideological stability of feudal beliefs and belief in its social structures is often very shakey. That is there are characters and types who do not buy in. GOT being GOT, that’s not even “one thing.” It can lead to appalling brutality on the part of lowborns who simply resent highborns. (For those who know the show, see Karl the Mutineer and Locke.) It can lead to ideological rejection of the system too (again see Gendry saying “I am done serving.” Though of course that’s complicated because Gendry the bastard doesn’t even know he has a highborn father.) In Tolkien, class and gender are never questioned–they are simply stable. Not in GOT. They are much more complicated and variable things.
Well, you have a much more detailed knowledge of the show than I do and I won’t argue with the idea that certain individuals question social structures and their place in them. But there is no large group or movement that is trying to create change towards a more benevolent system (Kaleesee’s rule would be more benevolent but it wouldn’t represent a move towards democracy). There is nothing currently happening that would suggest that if you visited Westeros 100 years from now anything would be significantly different.
Restarting the series. Have watched the pilot and the second episode so far. It holds up really well on second viewing. Weird, but the killing of the direwolf “Lady” has impacted me more than several of the human deaths.
Beautiful animals. Not sure the breed, though I’m guessing WV would know. If I had a nice big yard with a fence, I’d definitely want to have one or more. The closest breed to an actual wolf would be preferable. Perhaps huskies or malamutes. Though I love golden retrievers too, as well as German shepherds.
As you know, all dogs are descended from wolves but the breed closest to the wolf genetically is the shi-tzu, followed by chows and other northern Asian breeds. So the dogs that look like wolves aren’t necessarily the closest related to them. I like all dogs but my wife and I prefer German Shepherds for many reasons with their wolf-like appearance being one of them.
BTW, the dire wolves in GOT did actually exist in the Pleistocene. They weren’t nearly as large as they are depicted to be on the show (they are about the same size as the modern grey wolf) but they had larger teeth and a stronger bite force.
You’re not alone in rooting for animals to live over humans. I’ll root for the animal every single time.
