So you're a biological robot?Originally Posted by ShoutGrace
So you're a biological robot?
Well, I don't take the materialistic view myself, actually.
I think that the general consensus of biologists is, however, that human beings aren't free to take or refrain from taking an action. "Free will" as we conceive it is an illusion.
“As Kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame . . .”
Why disqualify the rush? I'm tabled. I'm tabled.
Man is no more a machine than the next animal.
My two cats both do very similar things though in slightly different ways ... but the result is predictably the same: eat, sleep, stalk territory, defecate, eat, sleep, etc. And believe or not, I do the same. However, there is one crucial difference between they and I. One crucial distinguishing thing ... My mind uses language to go round and round in circles which, it could be said, makes them (my cats) purer than I. Furthermore, my thoughts are constantly lifted from yesterday, and guess what, they are not even mine.
If your thoughts are not your own, whose are they?
If we all are anxious about the same question so I guess there is a truth and this truth is universal !
My benighted mind is uncertain, but I'll say this …
Thoughts are inherited. Thoughts are adopted. Thoughts are borrowed. Most thoughts are repeated/imitated from others who have done likewise. New thought is extremely rare. Most people go through their entire lives never having an original thought. It’s not really our fault, but it kind of makes us secondhand people: repeaters and imitators of what has gone before, and what has gone before has created division and conflict. Similar thoughts to these have doubtless been thought at one time or another. Surely they are not my thoughts. The thinker is trapped in a neverending plagarism, arriving at considerations and conclusions which have been mulled over in the past ad nauseum, be they frivolous or profound. Can you think of an original thought? If we come into contact with what we believe is a new way of thinking, how new is it in actual fact? …
Understood. My take on the freedom of will is as follows: The will can only direct its flow freely when the mind is devoid of authority.
The first debate is answering the question of is there such a thing as Truth. Is there a single unifying concept that we seek to discover. Is there something that is revealed through the study of religion, science, history and math? My belief as a Christian is that this truth does exist. In fact John 1:1 makes the assertion that this divine truth took on human flesh. From my perspective the historian, scientist, philosopher and theologian are all looking for the same thing from different perspectives. Unfortunately, most suffer from the same fatal flaw, they look to prove their preconceived dogmas instead of expanding themselves into new discoveries. It takes courage to move out of one's comfort zone and into new unexplored areas, but without that courage you can never be more than you already are.
Hello Everyone,
Your Believe is your truth.
What about Truth that doesn't involve belief?
I'm glad a thread I had posted a few months ago received so much attention. I hadn't been through here for a couple months.
I'm thankful for the discussion that has taken place. I just hope you all know I essentially rescind my OP. I don't hold those sentiments anymore.
Allow your discussion to continue.
there is truth in the fact that one cannot intellectually define "truth."
i know that to be true.
"The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n"
relativism is hopeless, sorry. that suggestion will be quickly shot down.
"The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n"
Cultural relativism is hopeless, therefore I suppose all relativism is hopeless except for the fact that no truth is universal.
truth
[trooth] Show IPA
–noun, plural truths
[troothz, trooths] Show IPA
.
1.
the true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth.
2.
conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement.
3.
a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like: mathematical truths.
4.
the state or character of being true.
5.
actuality or actual existence.
6.
an obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude.
7.
honesty; integrity; truthfulness.
8.
( often initial capital letter ) ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience: the basic truths of life.
9.
agreement with a standard or original.
10.
accuracy, as of position or adjustment.
11.
Archaic . fidelity or constancy.
—Idiom
12.
in truth, in reality; in fact; actually: In truth, moral decay hastened the decline of the Roman Empire.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English treuthe, Old English trēowth (cognate with Old Norse tryggth faith). See true, -th1
—Related forms
truth·less, adjective
truth·less·ness, noun
mis·truth, noun
non·truth, noun
—Can be confused: truism, truth .
—Synonyms
1. fact. 2. veracity. 7. sincerity, candor, frankness. 10. precision, exactness.
—Antonyms
1. falsehood. 2, 4, 7. falsity.
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