I agree that Harris' book is a step in the right direction. But I'd like to ask what others make of the critiques of the book by philosophers such as Daniel Dennett, Simon backburn and Russel Blackford. I'm too low status to be able to post links to their critiques here, but if you would like to read these critiques you can just Google the "philosophers name" followed by "critique of The Moral Landscape" and you will find them. The are all accessible and fairly short reads. I'm iffy about getting mired in Dennett's thinking, tho I don't know his position on morality.  Did you hear he's ..read more

I am not an antisemite. However, this has been a six-decade long disaster for the Palestinian people whose land should never have been partitioned. And ever since the partition, the Palestinians have suffered death by a thousands cuts as Israel invades more of what is left of Palestinian territory. It has been a disaster for the Palestinians and it may well end up being a disaster for Israel, too, if/when it's backers in the West can no longer protect it. Whatever happens, the 1.8 billion in the Muslim world (and many in the West) will not forgive or forget Israel's avaricious and cruel destru ..read more

There is no "edge" of the universe. Travel as far as you wish and you will never reach an edge. And there is no space “outside” the universe. The universe contains all of space - there is no space and no "where" outside the universe for anything else to exist in. The universe is not some sort of container… Questions for Lagayscienza, Gertie, night912, and Michael_H_ : 1. Isn’t this (Laga's comments above) also true for an “infinite and unbounded” universe? 2. If so, then what convinces you that the universe is “finite and unbounded” instead of “infinite and unbounded”? 3. What makes som ..read more

About the Jewish guy on the news, the one who nearly got arrested trying to cross the road; he was trying to cross the road when there was a pro Palestinian march occurring! The police saw his actions as provocative because they were. Take for example if the march was for gay pride and the counterpart [as like the Jewish chap is to the Muslims] was homophobia or some such thing, the policeman would have seen the counterpart as being provocative too – because that is provocative! Gideon Falter was acting as an agent provokateur and the Police sargeant who arrested him, despite calls for h ..read more

I agree that Harris' book is a step in the right direction. But I'd like to ask what others make of the critiques of the book by philosophers such as Daniel Dennett, Simon backburn and Russel Blackford. I'm too low status to be able to post links to their critiques here, but if you would like to read these critiques you can just Google the "philosophers name" followed by "critique of The Moral Landscape" and you will find them. The are all accessible and fairly short reads. Statistics: Posted by Lagayscienza — Tue Apr 23, 2024 10:30 am ..read more

About the Jewish guy on the news, the one who nearly got arrested trying to cross the road; he was trying to cross the road when there was a pro Palestinian march occurring! The police saw his actions as provocative because they were. Take for example if the march was for gay pride and the counterpart [as like the Jewish chap is to the Muslims] was homophobia or some such thing, the policeman would have seen the counterpart as being provocative too – because that is provocative! Gideon Falter was acting as an agent provokateur and the Police sargeant who arrested him, despite calls for his ..read more

There is no "edge" of the universe. Travel as far as you wish and you will never reach an edge. And there is no space “outside” the universe. The universe contains all of space - there is no space and no "where" outside the universe for anything else to exist in. The universe is not some sort of container… Questions for Lagayscienza, Gertie, night912, and Michael_H_ : 1. Isn’t this (Laga's comments above) also true for an “infinite and unbounded” universe? 2. If so, then what convinces you that the universe is “finite and unbounded” instead of “infinite and unbounded”? 3. What makes som ..read more

Like Hamas, you do not believe Israel has a right to exist. Don't think that's quite accurate. PC has said that Israel does have the right to defend itself against armies from "third party" nations. So logically, to the extent that Hamas is an Iranian-sponsored guerilla force, he would I think acknowledge that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas. To the extent that Hamas is merely enacting the will of the Palestinians in Gaza, he sees a difference. But to that extent all the Palestinians in Gaza are complicit in Hamas' crimes... Reality is messy and doesn't always fit our ..read more

Just finished The Moral Landscape (Sam Harris) and wanted to debate the central thesis of his book. Do you believe that we can scientifically quantify what it means to be moral? Harris believes so, and says that we can find a way to maximize human well-being through scientific measures. His claim rests on the idea that increasing human well being should be the goal of morality. He defends this by stating that anything that we should care about related to morality is something that actually effects our well being. In other words, while some moral systems reference abstract values, he believes ..read more

I've also heard stories from de-transitioners who said that they felt dumped after the treatment was done with no after surgery support/care. Which relates to another of Cass's recommendations which said there should be follow through services for young people who have been treated, going on well into adult hood "to ensure continuity of care and support at a potentially vulnerable stage in their journey." De-transitioners would say that. They divert blame for the fact that they, themselves - no one else - screwed up royally. They should simply own their mistake, not pass the buck. Why no ..read more