What's the strongest argument for atheism?

Author: Fallaneze

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TwoMan
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@Fallaneze
What I'm not understanding is why you've accepted that a different opinion on ice cream flavors isn't irrational but a different opinion on morality is.
I didn't say that a difference of opinion on morality is irrational.

Fallaneze
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@TwoMan
The opinion was that cruelty, dishonesty, cowardice, and laziness was morally good. You found this to be irrational when taking into account your moral standards. 

The other opinion was that vanilla is a better ice cream flavor than chocolate. You did not find this to be irrational when taking into account your preference for chocolate.


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The opinion was that cruelty, dishonesty, cowardice, and laziness was morally good. You found this to be irrational when taking into account your moral standards. 
Those things are morally good as they pertain to my moral standards. It would not be irrational for a sadist or a compulsive liar to disagree with me.

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@Fallaneze
The Big Bang was just one example. We need to rely on an inference to the best explanation for many things. Not everything can be reproduced in a controlled environment, even though that might be ideal.
God would have designed nature so there'd be a certain level of intellect exhibited in nature. That said, God is not "intertwined" in nature. A programmer is beyond the program he creates. He is not contained by it but he leaves signatures of his intelligence inside the program. 
The number of versions of something conceived beforehand does not make it more or less likely that the next version is any more or less likely to exist. It 100% depends on the defintion. This also overlooks the commonalities in many different variations of God. One of those commonalities for instance is an eternal consciousness, not Christianity or Islam.
Deism is functionally identical to atheism.
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@Fallaneze
When you think of the number "1" must you imagine it as an object, like an apple or an orange? When you think of "1,000,000" do you hold a million different objects in your mind? We understand the meaning of numbers without having objects associated with them. 
If math required corresponding objects for us to know of it then the works of Pythagoras or Euclid would've been impossible.
Mathematics is an axiomatic system.

Do you believe that mathematics is evidence of "Intelligent Design"?

Deism is functionally identical to atheism.
Fallaneze
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@TwoMan
In reference to the opinion that cruelty, dishonesty, cowardice and laziness were morally good you said:

"I, personally, would find those things irrational if I wanted to be considered a good person. However, I cannot speak for someone else"

Now, in reference to the same opinion that cruelty, dishonesty, cowardice, are morally good are you saying this:

"Those things are morally good as they pertain to my moral standards. It would not be irrational for a sadist or a compulsive liar to disagree with me."




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@Fallaneze
My objective is to have the most rational inference.
A noble pursuit.

There may be other logically possible explanations for something but that doesn't mean it's the most rational explanation.
This is true.  Some hypotheses are unfalsifiable.

It's logically possible that the Rosetta Stone was written through wind and erosion.
This is a particularly unlikely and unparsimonious hypothesis.

There is no testable physical evidence of logic, meaning, math (& geometry),
This statement is provably false.  If you want "physical evidence" of "logic, math and geometry", look no further than the computer sitting in front of you.  These are Quantifiable.

...and moral truth propositions. Nor of conscious experiences, free will, etc.
These are Qualitative.

You are making a category error.

Please avoid conflating Quanta with Qualia.
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@Fallaneze
So the arguments given for atheism so far are:

* lack of evidence for theism
* propensity for people to make up supernatural explanations
And your arguments all point to Deism.

Deism is functionally identical to atheism.
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@Fallaneze
Maximizing physical harm to you is good though according to their chosen standard. In any case, there's no moral highground between the both of you.
Please explain how your proposed Deism solves this "problem"?

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@Fallaneze
There just needs to be a fact of the matter in order to resolve moral disagreements. Without moral realism, there's no fact of the matter. There's also no moral progress, no moral highground, no moral correctness or incorrectness, no instrinsic moral value attached to dispositions like compassion and cruelty, in the case of two competing moral views on something, one person can never be more right than the other, and moral discussions themselves would be no different than reaching a consensus on a favorite color. 
Just simply labeling your personal moral-intuition "fact" (ontologically) doesn't solve any of your proposed dilemmas.

If you can't convince a majority of the world's population, then your "fact" is functionally identical to a personal opinion.

I'm absolutely certain that the majority of Muslim's believe in "moral realism", just like you do.

This is the key conflict.  You're trying to justify "moral realism" but the people who disagree with you most already believe in "moral realism".

Please explain how your "moral realism" is BETTER or more LOGICAL than any of the thousands of alternative versions.
TwoMan
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@Fallaneze
In reference to the opinion that cruelty, dishonesty, cowardice and laziness were morally good you said:

"I, personally, would find those things irrational if I wanted to be considered a good person. However, I cannot speak for someone else"

Now, in reference to the same opinion that cruelty, dishonesty, cowardice, are morally good are you saying this:

"Those things are morally good as they pertain to my moral standards. It would not be irrational for a sadist or a compulsive liar to disagree with me."
I'm sorry. I misread the second of your statements. I should have replied "those things are not morally good as they pertain to my moral standards". Is that where the confusion lies?

3RU7AL
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@Fallaneze
In reference to the opinion that cruelty, dishonesty, cowardice and laziness were morally good you said:
"I, personally, would find those things irrational if I wanted to be considered a good person. However, I cannot speak for someone else"
Now, in reference to the same opinion that cruelty, dishonesty, cowardice, are morally good are you saying this:
"Those things are morally good as they pertain to my moral standards. It would not be irrational for a sadist or a compulsive liar to disagree with me."
You are compulsively harping on general agreement in order to attempt to justify "moral realism".

Simply because most of us agree that, generally "good behavior" is "good", does not make it a universal "fact".

If 64% of people who like icecream prefer vanilla, this does not make the statement "vanilla is better than chocolate" a "fact".

If 86% of people find the temperature of 22.222 degrees Celsius "comfortable" it does not magically make it a "fact".

Some people may find that temperature perfectly comfortable at some times and either "too cold" or "too hot" at other times.

Simply because you, at one point in your life found 22.222 degrees Celsius to be "comfortable", does not mean you will ALWAYS find 22.222 degrees Celsius "comfortable".

For example, in a war zone, your normal standards and expectations of your "moral intuition" may be radically different than under peacetime conditions.
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@Fallaneze
We still relate numbers with real.wprld objects even 0 is only useful when compared with 0 apples (as an example). When you say 1000000 you are holding the concept of one million objects in your mind. This is what makes math useful in the first place. It allows us to relate to numbers and concepts that are otherwise beyond the human mind to encompass. If an omniscient being existed it would have no use for math.
Fallaneze
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@TwoMan
Yes that does clarify, thank you. 

So to be clear on your position, you believe that even if people hold opposite moral views than you, there is no rational difference between their opinion and yours.

Fallaneze
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@secularmerlin
0 apples isn't an object though. You said math was solely based on objects. You can't have a non-existent object to base the number 0 off of. This also does not address negative numbers.
Fallaneze
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@secularmerlin
No, I cant conceive of 1,000,000 objects in my mind. That's way too many. 
Fallaneze
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@3RU7AL
I dont know what you mean when you say deism is functionally equivalent to atheism. You mean the world will continue as is with no supernatural intervention? 
TwoMan
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@Fallaneze
So to be clear on your position, you believe that even if people hold opposite moral views than you, there is no rational difference between their opinion and yours.
I can rationally understand how a person would come to the opposite opinion if the moral standard they are using is different than mine. I am probably using the word "rational" in a different context than you. Their opinion would be considered irrational as pertaining to my moral standards.
Fallaneze
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And your moral opinion would be considered irrational relative to their moral standards. Your moral standards and their moral standards are equally rationally warranted. Correct?
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@Fallaneze
It doesn't matter if 0 apples is an object it relates to an object and here is the amazing part and what 0 is really good for it relates to an object that isn't even there.

No you cannot hold one million objects in your mind that is precisely why the concept one million is so useful.  It is a placeholder for one million objects. We cannot hold one million separate objects in our minds but we can hold the concept. Abstract concepts only exist in the brain but the brain is a physical object so abstract concepts cannot exist without that physical component. In any case I'm not sure what this even has to do with atheism. Math is not an argument for any god(s) even if it did somehow exist as more than a human invention.
Fallaneze
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@secularmerlin
0 does not relate to an object because an object that doesn't exist will have nothing to relate to it.

Math is useful, we both agree on that, but your theory that math is based on objects is where we disagree. We understand abstract concepts using our brain but this doesn't mean that abstract concepts are only contained within our brain. We understand reality using our brain too, this doesnt mean that reality is only contained within our brain. 

Transcendental argument for God's existence.


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@3RU7AL
Agreed
TwoMan
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@Fallaneze
And your moral opinion would be considered irrational relative to their moral standards. Your moral standards and their moral standards are equally rationally warranted. Correct?
Equally rationally warranted? I can't say that. That implies some kind of 3rd person objectivity. I can only say that my standards are rational to me and their standards are rational to them.

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@Fallaneze
The reality we experience is only in your brain. You cannot experience reality directly ever.
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@Fallaneze
Please describe a way of testing for any transcendent object or force.
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@Fallaneze
I dont know what you mean when you say deism is functionally equivalent to atheism. You mean the world will continue as is with no supernatural intervention?
Deism has no intrinsic dogma.

Deism does not demand "worship" or any other particular set of beliefs or behaviors.

Deism does not inform "morality" or "free-will".

Deism, even if accepted as "fact" has absolutely zero consequence.

Deism shockingly does absolutely nothing to logically support any of the thousands of mythological creator gods.

If Deism is true, do you think it makes Marduk or Pangu more likely to be the "one true god"?

If Deism is true, the 2012 movie "Prometheus" is just as likely to be "fact" as any other ancient myth.
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@TwoMan
@Fallaneze
And your moral opinion would be considered irrational relative to their moral standards. Your moral standards and their moral standards are equally rationally warranted. Correct?
Your "moral conclusions" are based on your "moral premises (axioms)".

These "moral premises (axioms)" are usually unstated and often subconscious and taken for granted.

Other people's "moral conclusions" are based on their "moral premises (axioms)".

Other people's "moral premises (axioms)" are usually unstated and often subconscious and taken for granted.

Your "moral conclusions" are rational (logical).

Other people's "moral conclusions" are also equally rational (logical).

WHAT YOU DISAGREE ON ARE YOUR AXIOMS.

Please make your axioms explicit.
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@secularmerlin
@Fallaneze
0 does not relate to an object because an object that doesn't exist will have nothing to relate to it.
Math is useful, we both agree on that, but your theory that math is based on objects is where we disagree. We understand abstract concepts using our brain but this doesn't mean that abstract concepts are only contained within our brain. We understand reality using our brain too, this doesnt mean that reality is only contained within our brain. 
Transcendental argument for God's existence.
Another argument for Deism.

Deism is functionally identical to atheism.
Fallaneze
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@3RU7AL
Yes, deism doesn't specify any particular God. Deism wouldn't be inconsequential. It would have implications for consciousness, biology, an afterlife, etc. It's also enough for atheism to be false.
Fallaneze
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@TwoMan
Ok, I'll rephrase. Neither your moral standards nor their moral standards are more rationally warranted. It's wholly dependent upon subjective opinion.