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An example of a bad choice doesn't mean that we are incapable of making good choices. And I really don't want to rehash the atheism-Stalinism issue, but I think it is unfair to lay Stalinism at the feet of "atheism". Stalinism arose from a very specific ideology involving political and moral...

My guess is... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time. eudaimonia, Mark

True. eudaimonia, Mark

Consciousness is an axiomatic concept; it can't be defined in any more basic terms. You are aware of my post in the act of reading it. This act of awareness is what I mean by consciousness. Time refers to change. When I say "through time", I mean during a process in which an entity changes...

True. I'd also like to add this relevant quote from Epicurus: Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist. This quote might not comfort everyone, but I have found it useful to help attune my mind to the right attitude...

First, I accept my finitude. I face my reality head on, with calmness, and embrace it. Second, I realize that I never had to exist at all. Isn't it fortunate for me that I have had this opportunity to exist? Third, I recognize that the moments of life are potentially worthwhile in...

I lean towards this view. The reason is simple. One's brain generates one's conscious existence as the person one is. If the brain disintegrates, as will happen with death, then this process is cancelled. Everything that one is disintegrates. One's unique vantagepoint on reality is lost forever...

No. Sorry. eudaimonia, Mark

I suppose it might appear that way to you, given your worldview. But the "missing element" in my view is actually shared values. ("God" is merely another way of expressing this.) If two people have committed themselves to the relationship, and have relationship-nourishing values that they share...

Yes, I think you have the right of it. Perhaps a loving relationship is what a "marriage" really is in its essence, regardless of whether one is legally married or not. eudaimonia, Mark

I have to say that women are still a mystery to me after several years of marriage. After spending several years in Sweden, I am wondering what the point of marriage is anymore. Swedes seem to raise children fine without becoming married. And relationships seem to be happier outside of...

Trust me, one doesn't have to be a libertarian to view oneself as having the right to be offensive. "Fundamentalism" finds guises just about everywhere. There is no group free of it. eudaimonia, Mark

Which is? Does this mean what Americans call liberalism? Or libertarianism? Or conservatism? Or what? (And this doesn't even touch European groups.) You'll see astonishingly different views on what freedoms people should have, and what they should be doing with their lives, between these...

There is always room for personal growth, but I would not equate that with being "impaired". To be impaired suggests to me a block of some kind, not simply the possibility of improvement. eudaimonia, Mark

Huh? :confused: Which "secularism" are you speaking of? It sounds like you are describing conservatism to me, and that isn't so secular. My personal, rather libertarian, secular view does not try to narrow down freedoms to what I personally think people should want. eudaimonia, Mark

Okay, to sum up my view: The concept of nothing is something: a concept. The referent of the concept "nothing" is not something. One should not confuse a concept for its referent, e.g., concept of "dog" is something you think, not something you can feed and pet. eudaimonia, Mark

Not by definition. If something is conceptualized positively -- which is to say, in terms of specific attributes -- then of course that must be something. However, nothing is conceptualized negatively. It is defined as no-thing, or "not anything". Because of that, it doesn't have to refer...

The question is nonsensical. Any answer to the question would refer to a cause that exists (or had existed), meaning that any answer to "why is there something?" must refer to a "something". You can never explain why there is something, if what you mean is "why there is anything at all?" All...

Eternal in what sense? It's easy to believe that Buddha nature exists where the causes and conditions that give rise to conscious organisms have successfully produced such organisms. However, what about where or when conscious organisms do not exist? Is Buddha nature in existence in such...

That's "Ouija" board. Here is how it works: Ideomotor effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Yes, the subconscious. eudaimonia, Mark