Suppose that we just acknowledge from the get-go that any two given religions or subcultures will have many compatibilities and many incompatibilities. And suppose we do not whitewash that fact, ignore the differences, or try to craft language to obscure those disharmonies.
Suppose that we try...
Almost 40 years ago, one of my favorite sf writers, Lois McMaster Bujold, introduced me to the concept of the artificial womb, which she called, the uterine replicator. Not only to the concept of the device, but to it's impact on a society which, unto that point, was restricted to body births...
Marriages should have term limits (3-5 years) where the participants must actively choose to extend the commitment. They should constantly evaluate and reevaluate the legal, financials and personal entanglement, and decide whether the partnership is working to support their needs as an...
Sam has free will.
Bob has free will.
Sam is a bad guy. He kidnaps people of Demographic X and does bad non-consensual stuff to them
Bob, and only Bob, knows what Sam does to people of Demographic X.
1) Bob gives Sam unfettered access to Demographic X.
Has Bob done anything immoral? Why...
I have always found love far easier than like. I can easily hold a deep affection, coupled with a strong sense of empathy, caring, warmth, and protectiveness. I feel love towards my relatives. Towards old friend and enemies. Towards that random person I talk to in line at the grocery.
But...
How did Isaac, a goat herd in a community of goat herds, touch goat skin and ever mistake it for human hair? I am a rural kid who has only touched about ten goats in my life, and I can tell the difference 10 out of 10 times. What's up with that?
I found this fascinating. Not only for the discussion, but for the ability to now generate an opposing interlocutor who has no stake in the outcome. Upon getting frustrated, one cannot legitimately claim dishonesty that the bot has egoism as a motivation.
Are there things that any given person deserves irrespective of what they have earned?
Food. Shelter. Medical care. Vote franchisement. Freedom. Empathy. Compassion. Respect.
All? Some? None? Other?
As I mentioned recently, the only people I hear claiming that people routinely confuse sex and love are people who belong to religion with sanctions against sex outside of marriage.
For those of you who don't take the story of the Fall literally. Adam, Eve, Tree, Serpent, etc, how do you envision the Fall of Man happening? And if it didn't happen, what use is Jesus?
You say that there is a god, but irrespective of whether or not there actually is, why should I be convinced that you know or are even capable of knowing such a thing?
I keep getting told that the Baha'i are all about equality and the oneness of humanity. I have poked through some of their history and have a hard time discerning how those principles manifests in reality.
With regards to social equality and justice, what practical efforts and tangible support...
A speaker is going to my mother's.church in mid September to speak on this topic. We were puzzling over breakfast 1).on what basis
could anyone know and 2) why does it matter?
Any thoughts?
I am told by many persons that if their god were to stop someone from acting on their desire to hurt another, that said god would be interfering with the free will of the perpetrator. Protecting the free will of the victim is never presented as a priority. Even in cases of sexual assault.
I...
IN the military it is understood that one should never give an order that one knows will not be obeyed. Now that SCROTUS is on your side what do you think will happen? Do you think that there are no provisions for underground railroads for abortions and the support of those in need? Do you...
To those who call them selves Pro-Lifers:
There is a container of 1000 frozen embryos due for implantation tomorrow morning, and a two month old infant grinning and burbling cuteness. There is some disaster and due to a freak confluence of circumstance you can only save one -- the container or...
The thesis is simple. You claim that your god is a perfect being. You claim that your god is all powerful and all knowing. You claim that your god made the universe, the earth, and all the living things in this world, including humans. That he is the one and the only creator. That everything...
When I was a Christian, I was a theistic evolutionist; meaning that I believed in God, and that the processes of the natural world had been set in place to accomplish his ends. In other words, there was no conflict between my faith and any of the currently accepted scientific theories. As a...
Creationists - what is the definition of a kind?
STOP!
I did not ask for examples. I asked for a definition. What are the complete list of criteria that I can use to determine if any two random animals are of the same kind/