Simon Paynton

Unseen wrote:
If I ever had an astrological reading telling me that I would set aside my teenage leaning toward being an Episcopal clergyman in favor of becoming an atheist philosopher whose main interests were linguistic philosophy and the questions surrounding free will consciousness, I’d be impressed on one level,

Well, any given medium is o…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
I made up a few generic paragraphs that sounded profound but very vague.

Yes, but being vague and general doesn’t prove anything.  Those things apply equally to everybody.

My college friend’s chart didn’t say “analytical scientist”, and mine didn’t say “totally unsuited to your occupation”.  They are very specific.

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
accurate.

I find Randi’s debunking unconvincing.  He’s chosen traits that everyone has or wants, and everyone wants to be Bluebeard the pirate.

Unseen wrote:
This is as good as any place to pass along a meme I made yesterday:

That’s a good meme.  I heard on World Service that Trump is trying to distance himself from it, maybe because it looks sinister.

The “conservative” (i.e., corrupt) commentator they had on said it was a success for them to politicise the judiciary as they have done.

I find that those newspaper astrology columns say things that are generically true for everyone, that’s why people think they’re accurate.  You could read any one of the twelve signs, and think it applies to you.

However, and I don’t know why, the professional birth charts that people can draw up seem to be very accurate.  Mine has a Grand T…[Read more]

The Christian idea of heaven and hell never made sense to me.  Is there some kind of binary division between good people and bad people?  No, there isn’t.  So, apparently you only get in to heaven if you believe in Jesus.  Anything else is “hating God”.  If God exists, he has the morals of a toddler.

I think heaven or hell makes sense in the cont…[Read more]

_Robert_ wrote:
There is no cosmic karma, the only consequences are relatively immediate or null.

Yes, a Christian said to me that heaven and hell must exist, otherwise there is no ultimate justice.

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
DEBATE: Is Morality Objective? – Alex O’Connor vs. Craig Biddle.

The usual complete load of old tosh that you get whenever moral philosophers have discussions.  I think that no two of them agree on anything.  Their ideas are bollocks.

However, they do raise some excellent questions, and if I am going to make asser…[Read more]

If anyone wants in-depth impartial analysis of the US election campaign, it’s all here:

Americast https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07h19zz

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
The idea that evolution is a linear progression from “ape to angel” is flawed.

Unseen wrote:
The truth, I believe, is that what natural selection is good for is for over time gradually eliminating things that are dysfunctional, and that’s about it.

Yes, I presume that every organism is adapted to its niche.  But th…[Read more]