Posts by Paul Litterick
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You stretch it beyond recognition.
Religion as a pious fiction is hardly a new idea, yet still it retains its cynicism as of new.
The people who sacrificed to the storm god sincerely believed that they would make the storm stop by doing so. Their sacrifice was a solution to the problem of the storm. It didn't work, but they did not know that. They were wrong, but at least they were sincere. If they sacrificed to satisfy existential needs (whatever those might be) then they would be insincere. And yes, sincerity is a virtue.
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Ratiionalism' is, excepting the empirical self-correction of hard science, just another religion, one that is anthropocentric but which also allows us to cognitively integrate ourselves with the matrix of the natural world.
Just another religion, but without the tax benefits. Rationalism is a means of responding to the world, based on empirical evidence. To call that a religion is stretching the term somewhat.
ship with a cosmos that is not really in any way anthroppocentric. One either throws up one's hands and declares utter disconnection and nihilistic despair, or acknowledges the 'fictional' but affecting sense of existential engagement.
There are many other choices. Besides it would be insincere to use as a tool something in which one does not believe.
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Competing theories abound in science just as in other disciplines.
Yes, but they are theories within science - established by scientific method and disputed by scientific arguments. Intelligent Design is not a scientific argument - it says "this is odd; we can't explain it; therefore God did it. QED."
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Ah, yes, but, religious organisation is about power and land; its origins are tribal and hierarchical. The Wars of Religion were not fought over differences of theology but because the various sides wanted power and land that their opponents possessed.
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Who could go into primeval bush, and not have those feelings?
Me.
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Auckland needs someone who can create an environment that contributes to a sense of self-worth for the city that both Wellington and Christchurch have in abundance (esp Wellington) through Mayoral support for cultural events and development (and that includes architecture)
We do not have architecture in Auckland. We have property.
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Our Prime Minister has already told us that the consultation period is over. This thread must stop.
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i'm with Russell on Tracey Island
Send us a postcard. There will be a zeppelin coming by to collect the mail any time soon
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It is a great link, Dottore. I availed myself of it.
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understanding is more than "thinking" or "reasoning".
Is that another line from Kung Fu Panda?