Pascal's Wager Redux

[tonyrey]

You won’t learn much about life if you confine yourself to evolution.

Aristotle’s golden mean is as true now as it was more than two thousand years ago. His wisdom is not confined to abstract concepts but embraces daily life both as an individual and also as a member of society. He is often underrated by people who haven’t even read his works.

 

[Charlemagne_III]

I’m glad you stipulate “good” philosophy because both Nietzsche and Hitler advocated evil philosophy.

There is bad philosophy just as there is bad science. Bad science is governed by bad philosophy. Good science is governed by good philosophy. In either case, it is philosophy that does the governing.

 

[tonyrey]

If you read about evolution (and there aren’t many better at explaining it than Dawkins, whatever you may think about his views on religion) and then move on to someone like Cosmides who is the go-to gal regarding evolutionary psychology, you get a very good idea of why we do the things we do.

Those two people have had more influence on how I view the world than anyone else.

And in any case, if you think that religion tells you why we are here, wouldn’t you want to know the how as well?

The distinction between “how” and “why” disappears if one believes evolutionary psychology gives us very good idea of why we do the things we do. The naked ape theory is still going strong…

 

[tonyrey]

There is bad philosophy just as there is bad science. Bad science is governed by bad philosophy. Good science is governed by good philosophy. In either case, it is philosophy that does the governing.

Indeed. The good philosophy existed before science and continues to be its foundation. That is why Pascal’s Wager is more significant than all the scientific discoveries in the world. Our eternal destiny is at stake…

 

[Charlemagne_III]

Indeed. The good philosophy existed before science and continues to be its foundation. That is why Pascal’s Wager is more significant than all the scientific discoveries in the world. Our eternal destiny is at stake…

Temporal destiny at stake too.

Scientists gambled on the philosophy that nuclear weapons were justified. They lost the gamble in that now bad science and bad philosophy have made possible Armageddon, which once was regarded by many as fiction but is now regarded by all as a living threat to human civilization.

 

[Bradski]

The naked ape theory is still going strong…

Far from it. The term is from a book by the same name by Desmond Morris back in the 60’s. His theories have been largely superseded.

He was a zoologist, not an expert in evolutionary biology.

 

[tonyrey]

The naked ape theory is still going strong…

The fundamental theory that we are the outcome of mindless events remains intact because we are regarded as mammals without free will or other spiritual powers to distinguish us from other species.

 

[tonyrey]

Temporal destiny at stake too.

Scientists gambled on the philosophy that nuclear weapons were justified. They lost the gamble in that now bad science and bad philosophy have made possible Armageddon, which once was regarded by many as fiction but is now regarded by all as a living threat to human civilization.

By their fruits you shall know them…

 

[tonyrey]

If you read about evolution (and there aren’t many better at explaining it than Dawkins, whatever you may think about his views on religion) and then move on to someone like Cosmides who is the go-to gal regarding evolutionary psychology, you get a very good idea of why we do the things we do.

Pascal’s Wager doesn’t make sense if everything we do is caused by previous events but he realised our outstanding attribute is our intellectual power which transcends physical causes. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to choose what to think and reach our own conclusions. There is no evidence computers have succeeded in becoming independent of the way we have programmed them…

 

[tonyrey]

Pascal’s Wager doesn’t make sense if everything we do is caused by previous events but he realised our outstanding attribute is our intellectual power which transcends physical causes. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to choose what to think and reach our own conclusions. There is no evidence computers have succeeded in becoming independent of the way we have programmed them…

And responsible for what they do…

 

[tonyrey]

And responsible for what they do…

The continued failure to produce evidence that computers have succeeded in becoming independent of the way we have programmed them is further proof that we are not merely mammals conditioned by our genes and environment.