Edward
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D replied to the topic An Ethical Exercise – What do you think in the forum Small Talk 5 years, 7 months ago
Is it ethically wrong to join a religion you don’t really believe?
No I don’t think so. People join social groups they think little of, even volunteer for causes they don’t care about, play on the teams for sports they don’t like and so on. There are all sorts of reasons people join groups for reasons other than doing the activities the group is…[Read more]
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D and
blackcat are now friends 5 years, 7 months ago -
Davis posted an update in the group
No comment 5 years, 7 months agoToo good not to be revisited
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test
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Testing testing 123! -
Hello Rachel! May the force of unconditional love be with you always.
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D replied to the topic An Ethical Exercise – What do you think in the forum Small Talk 5 years, 7 months ago
I suppose it helps to look at it by comparing it with similar exercises:
Imagine you live in the UK and you decide to join and actively participate in the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Lib-Dems, the Greens, the Communists, the far right-racist ones, the Official Monster Raving Loony Party all at once and participate in them equally.…[Read more]
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D replied to the topic There's a reason we were caught flat-footed by the pandemic, and… in the forum Politics 5 years, 7 months ago
Canada is considering a wealth tax. Their biggest concern are the extreme steps the wealthy would inevitably take to avoid paying wealth tax including sending their capital out of the country. If it were introduced it would have to be done VERY intelligently and thoroughly working hard to avoid as many loop holes as possible. I would say…[Read more]
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D replied to the topic There's a reason we were caught flat-footed by the pandemic, and… in the forum Politics 5 years, 7 months ago
A handful of communal programs do work out well when they are democratically put in to play. Universal health care is one of them. Ontario, Canada has a centralised milk board in which almost all milk production is regulated by the province (of course you still have private actors running the farms but they have to sell their milk to the province…[Read more]
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D replied to the topic There's a reason we were caught flat-footed by the pandemic, and… in the forum Politics 5 years, 7 months ago
Robert I think it’s much less about cooperation than simply providing needed social services. It’s not as though a tax payer cooperates with the homeless, the disabled, someone who needs medical attention or someone temporarily in a bind. They are willing to part with their tax dollars to limit suffering AND also enjoy the clear benefits of living…[Read more]
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Davis replied to the topic The torture planet in the forum
To Do or not To Do 5 years, 7 months agoEncoginator, you are assuming that life would develop on other planets the same way that it does here. The development of life is disinterested in our happiness or suffering and any mechanism which ensures the continuation of life will be ruthlessly utilised including the terrible byproduct of suffering. If life can continue, even with immense…[Read more]
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Davis replied to the topic The torture planet in the forum
To Do or not To Do 5 years, 7 months agoSecondary question:
If these creatures could indeed be re-engineered to suffer much less and yet still continue be able to somewhat adapt to this barely ever changing planet…would you consider enabling this? If you had the choice between a little less suffering (totally pointless suffering) but a tiny chance to develop intelligence would you…[Read more]
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Davis replied to the topic The torture planet in the forum
To Do or not To Do 5 years, 7 months agojust because we can’t “conceive” of a way…does that necessarily preclude a path to advancement
Robert that is an extremely good point (one of the few nitpicking with this scenario that is as interesting as the actual answers themselves). I would say that this would have to be part of the risk assessment formula. Even if we cannot fathom how the…[Read more]
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Davis replied to the topic The torture planet in the forum
To Do or not To Do 5 years, 7 months agoRobert we are talking about non-intelligent species and no conceivable way for them to develop intelligence. It is certainly not the same as a planet Earth were we can choose to continue living or not despite our suffering. In other words we aren’t helpless nor need the assistance of others to put us out of our misery.
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D and
Belle Rose are now friends 5 years, 7 months ago -
D and
jakelafort are now friends 5 years, 7 months ago -
D and
— are now friends 5 years, 7 months ago
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Davis replied to the topic The torture planet in the forum
To Do or not To Do 5 years, 7 months agoYes indeed unseen. I should have said “intelligent” and/or “self-aware”.
Thank you Kristina for actually answering the question. I particularly like:
the preservation of life doesn’t, on its own, trump reduction in suffering
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Davis replied to the topic The torture planet in the forum
To Do or not To Do 5 years, 7 months agoOh dear. It seems my reply also disappeared.
Pleasure is part of the tool box that has emerged in Earthly evolution as an aid to natural selection. For non-sentient beings I don’t think pleasure and pain are particularly balanced they both play different roles in natural selection. But there is no reason why pleasure MUST be a part of evolution.…[Read more]
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Davis started the topic The torture planet in the forum
To Do or not To Do 5 years, 7 months agoSo we can travel the stars. We come across a planet that has a form of life that evolved differently than us. Every single creature suffers endlessly in this world (a ghastly product of a strange evolution). Scientists have studied the hell out of them and there is no conceivable way to re-engineer them. There is zero possibility they will ever…[Read more]
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D replied to the topic Are you ready for this? in the forum Theism 5 years, 7 months ago
From God’s point of view, everything’s running fine.
If we cannot comprehend the perfection of things then we cannot make claims about it making the whole theory fall appart.
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D replied to the topic Are you ready for this? in the forum Theism 5 years, 7 months ago
I see…so God had no choice but to create sin and sinful people?
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D replied to the topic Are you ready for this? in the forum Theism 5 years, 7 months ago
Indeed Reg those are just a few criticisms. Others easily follow:
I can easily think of a more perfect being than a who would have created this planet with the derranged people who live on it.
I can conceive of an absolutely perfect universe of which a universe more perfect could not be concieved and so it must exist and yet this universe is…[Read more]
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