Gregg R Thomas

@regthefronkeyfarmer – but I never said the truth had to be justified – just “true”.  Anyway I like your definition of understanding better – understanding the factors that make something happen, and everything has a causative structure.

I understand that the concept of truth is not simple and is hard to define precisely.  If something is l…[Read more]

@Simon – Understanding is true belief. False beliefs are either redundant or harmful because delusion is always unsatisfactory.

That’s incorrect in modern epistemology. The old school of thought was that “Knowledge is justified true belief”. It is difficult to shake that idea because it is ‘folk epistemology’ and it has been around for centuries…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Religious justification is more powerful than anger or hatred and that is how ordinary people become instruments of atrocity.

I actually think that extremist religion and politics can justify “righteous” anger and hatred, blotting out all compassion or respect for human rights.  That’s because morality has an…[Read more]

Once moral judgment is externalized, violence becomes procedural. Killing is no longer an act of violence. It becomes a duty to the cause. The killer experiences righteousness, not guilt. I remember the phone call by the Hamas terrorist to his father and both were rejoicing in the murders. Religion claims absolute moral authority by an…[Read more]

Understanding – apprehending the truth – is an aspiration or goal.  We can’t guarantee to reach an adequate understanding of something.

Understanding is true belief.  False beliefs are either redundant or harmful because delusion is always unsatisfactory.

Understanding is voluntary.
Belief is optional.

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
Univ. of Oklahoma punishes instructor for failing Christian student who didn’t do the assignment.

She wrote a right-wing rant instead.  I think that the student, Samantha Fulnecky, will never be able to get a normal job now.  But there’s plenty of work spouting off on YouTube, playing the victim and pretending to be…[Read more]

Thanks, Reg!  Happy New Year to you and  I hope all your Machiavellian plans for 2026 achieve outstanding success!

Have a great week everyone and Happy New Year!!

Last week I checked my crypto wallet on my cellphone. It said I had a balance of $28,151,000. I closed the app, re-opened it and I had the same balance. I immediately tried to transfer funds, thinking there must have been a “bitcoin moment”. When I got to the transfer window, the last 3 zeros were gone and I was actually down about $200. I could…[Read more]

If Christianity were evidence-based, denominations would converge.

@theencogitationer – the answers to both your points are “cooperation, sharing, and risky foraging niche”.  The great apes are savage to each other, and especially the pre-human (pre- Ardipithecus ramidus, 4-6 million years ago) great apes, as we surmise from looking at the relative canine sizes of males and females.  A big difference, with big m…[Read more]

TheEncogitationer wrote:
There was NO Garden of Eden, NO Golden Age, NO Noble Savagery.

However, Power, oppression, and patriarchy did exist at least on a small scale and money existed when barter got too complicated

But you’re talking from the position of your armchair, off the top of your head, with no evidence.

Uh, ackshuyally, that did…

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