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You assume that the brain which produces the entity known as YOU is responsible for how that entity functions after it has been produced. We DO know that our decisions are made before the brain responses can be recorded. We are living in a delayed "broadcast" of our actual Self as it makes decisions once formed by brain activity preceding our awareness. It is that entity (YOU) who is formed by the brain but not part of it that survives our physical death. It clearly has the decisionmaking and thought capabilities once formed without the need for the brain that formed it.
It’s no news that the unconscious parts of our brains run the show. But that is not evidence for non-corporeal awareness.
It’s no news that the unconscious parts of our brains run the show. But that is not evidence for non-corporeal awareness.
We've sen this in the dinosaurs, where information-processing happened in the brain (such as it was) and the motor-part of the brain was in the ass. Mammals have the two parts of the 'brain' combined into one. Mystic is trying to pull his old gap for God argument of regarding the Unknown, or 'not yet understood' as 'Mysterious''/inexplicable, and thus a pretext for postulating "God".
I personally have never understood how someone like Hawking-that understood just how much about life/ the cosmos/etc we are yet to understand-could be so sure about the non-existence of something/one/place who’s existence he cannot categorically disprove.
You assume that the brain which produces the entity known as YOU is responsible for how that entity functions after it has been produced. We DO know that our decisions are made before the brain responses can be recorded. We are living in a delayed "broadcast" of our actual Self as it makes decisions once formed by brain activity preceding our awareness. It is that entity (YOU) who is formed by the brain but not part of it that survives our physical death. It clearly has the decisionmaking and thought capabilities once formed without the need for the brain that formed it.
Indeed, but can you show that these subconscious decisions are the right ones? I can think of two examples, where converts to the Monnies were observed to be displaying facial signs of conversion before (as they explained later) they knew they had converted. There was a demonstration of converting someone and then deconverting them again by directing the subconscious into a sort of brainwash and then a deprogramming.
This indicates a subconscious that is as much a product of the brain as our conscious mind, and is equally as prone to mistakes. That does not indicate -does it? - some superior cosmic mind having anything to do with it.
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Originally Posted by MysticPhD
To posit a possibility consistent with my views: If it IS our goal in this life to achieve a state of mind in agape love for all, it is certainly possible that we could do so at the very end of our life. Of course, all the nonsense about what you believe about anything muddies the waters considerably, but In my view, that is totally irrelevant. If you sincerely come to realize that love is the answer to life and sincerely achieve that loving state of mind, that CAN happen in mere moments at the end of life.
...
Just substitute Reason (which has a hope of working) for ' Agape Love" which doesn't, and I could have written that to you myself.
I personally have never understood how someone like Hawking-that understood just how much about life/ the cosmos/etc we are yet to understand-could be so sure about the non-existence of something/one/place who’s existence he cannot categorically disprove.
It’s not difficult to understand. Hawking never found any evidence that the idea of god was necessary to explain anything.
Hawking well-understood that he didn’t know everything. That’s not the same thing as saying that therefore god.
I personally have never understood how someone like Hawking-that understood just how much about life/ the cosmos/etc we are yet to understand-could be so sure about the non-existence of something/one/place who’s existence he cannot categorically disprove.
Nor have I. But then, neither of us have minds as good as his. The best we can do is take the logical and evidence -based approach. That will make non -belief in any god-claim the best logical (if not emotional) option. If you doubt that, stick around and watch the wrangles.
Everyone who regularly post in this forum knows that the owner of City-Data set the rules in place when he created this sub-forum over ten years ago.
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Originally Posted by Administrator
This sub-forum is not the place for proselytizing or attempting to convert atheists or agnostics. It is meant for atheists and agnostics interested in discussions among themselves and for others who want to learn more about this worldview and are interested in posing non-confrontational questions to atheists or agnostics. Use our main Religion and Philosophy forum if you want to debate the merits of this worldview (but do a search first to see if your topics have already been discussed).
It would have been easier to deal with if you had simply reported the offending post and waited for us to see the report and delete it. Instead, we had to delete 4 replies that quoted the offending post.
Come on, people. You all knew that post would be gone. You didn't need to reply to it.
I can't even remember what the post was. Almost Every Theist who posts in A/A has Converting Atheist at the back of their mind. Just as we Satinic perdition-bound reprobates have deconverting the faithful at the back of our minds.
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