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Nothing amuses me more than those who scorn hunting, dog-eating, foie-gras, and ignore what goes into the meat products they themselves consume daily. The bulk of 'pet food' that is sold is vegetable matter anyway. Certainly you shouldn't care for a carnivore if you're not willing to provide...

What reason is there to attribute an 'unimaginable event' to a deity? What reason is there to believe 'unimaginable events' (miracles) have ever occurred?

Animals don't factory farm, feed meat to herbivorous animals, or (generally) torture their food. Feel free to talk about 'natural hierarchies' next time you personally kill an animal to feed yourself because you need to, not because you enjoy hamburger.

You don't get to choose what you believe. Something either makes sense to you, or it doesn't. I believe consciousness stops after death because there is no reason to believe that it continues. The idea that everybody gets to last forever is a nice one, but it also strikes me as kind of a...

It's safe to assume I will never bring anything remotely like quantum mechanics into any discussion voluntarily. Bear that in mind. Now. What I'm saying, and it goes along with the idea that we can only really know that one conscious being exists (ourselves). If a thinking perceived the...

A thread in which I have not sought to participate and which I believe has no bearing on this particular discussion? No. I have not read it. Go figure. The entire argument can stop there. We do not have the ability to choose to "change our course." You can choose to drive into a metaphorical...

My only real problem with your line of thinking here is that you don't take into account, how should we call it? The stacking effect? The position of (and yes, I am sorry to subject you again to the analogy) a marble on top a stack is dependent on the marbles below. If the marbles bellow are...

Sorry for the overdue reëntry into the discussion, but I've needed a break from this sort of foruming for a while. Now: This post of yours is steeped in the implications of accepting voluntary control/responsibility as illusory. Does objective reality have any relevance whatsoever to how we...

Do you believe there is absolutely no affect of parental influence that cannot be reversed consciously? I speak English, and I've got an understanding of the logical basis for my argument. This isn't a courtroom and we aren't trying to establish the existence of something tangible. There can...

Your understanding of a choice is mistaken then. A conscious effort is something that could be chosen (a choice to action) not a choice in itself. There is no contradiction. And, I apologize, but I can't of any clearer response to what you've said other than that you are on a serious flight of...

Do you think there are absolutely no genetic or prenatal influences affecting a person? If that is not what you think, then you and I agree completely. I have mentioned inclinations, and I have mentioned that they are affected by Nature AND Nurture. My premise is only inaccurate and...

<br /><br />If it held true that humans (and, I suppose by extension all animals) cannot perceive themselves as anything but choosing beings, natural examples of ethical behavior would be expected. If I disagreed that there were ethics and morals, I couldn't very well consider myself a thinking...

There is no difference between exactly one, and exactly one. Evolution cannot produce something greater than what can it produce. That is a fallacy in thinking. If Y [can do] X, X cannot be greater than what Y [can do].

Good question. What answer was it you wanted me to give? To transcend the mechanism of evolution we'd have to say there was a limit to what evolution could produce. To be more than what evolution had/could fashion, we'd need to know exactly what evolution has/could have fashioned. We don't know...

1. lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull. 2. characterized by or proceeding from mental dullness; foolish; senseless: a stupid question. 3. tediously dull, esp. due to lack of meaning or sense; inane; pointless: a stupid party. 4. annoying or irritating; troublesome: Turn off...

A sociopath that chose to be such, naturally. You'd know why that conclusion is false if you'd bothered to read my statements as to why this issue is ultimately irrelevant. Free will is true in our subjective human world whether it is such objectively or not. Hence, though it isn't the...

It isn't irrelevant, it's essential. What is a choice? An interaction between the Ego and some situation brought it by the world. Yes? The Ego's choice is based upon the situation, but also upon the Ego's baggage. This will need less coverage if you read my ping-pong analogy, but basically any...

Why is it so hard for you to accept that my argument is not for genetic determinism? That may have a personal vendetta against the position but that needn't incline you to seek it out in everything I say. It isn't there, It's not my position. Why wouldn't I confess it if that were what I wanted...

You exert conscious influence over your thoughts, but you do not control which thoughts you "decide" to foster, and which you deny. THAT is decided by your opinions, your tastes, your personality, your history - NONE of which you control. If every human is a white ping-pong ball rolled down a...

I feel like my time is wasted when My comments are responded to with "Yeps" and smileys. The discussion isn't a waste. MY effort is a waste, or seems to be, when I perceive I'm being patronized or not getting the same investment from you that I'm giving. The negation of the concept of free...