A Documented Question

Sep 18, 2011 13:06

OKC: Eternal source of thought-provoking personality questions ( Read more... )

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ragnarok20 September 18 2011, 21:03:19 UTC
Is it because you are proponent of "hard" agnosticism that you do not believe such a document could exist?

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rackstraw September 19 2011, 02:18:16 UTC
I'd call it basic agnosticism. We all believe that it is not possible to know. Proving it is an even taller order.

For a practical knowledge example, I know my drinking cup is on the table to my right. But how can I possibly prove it to anyone who's not in this room, right now?

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ragnarok20 September 19 2011, 08:20:23 UTC
There's two kinds of agnosticism, from the reading that I've read. You have "hard" agnosticism which takes a epistemological stance that there is no conceivable way in which humans can ever prove that "god" every exists. Personally, I reject this view since it makes certain presumptions about the nature of god, namely the characteristics of which god consists.

Then there is "soft" agnosticism which simply states that we don't know whether or not god exists. Namely, it is a time-specific view and which can be interpreted as, "We may not know now, but it is conceivable that we may know whether god exists." This is the view I take, since it necessitates no such presumptions about the qualities of god.

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rackstraw September 25 2011, 01:44:00 UTC
I draw that same distinction using the terms PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE versus ABSOLUTE KNOWLEDGE ( ... )

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roofofyourmouth September 18 2011, 22:18:43 UTC
I don't think that a something as simple as a document would be able to prove or disprove such a fact. If a piece of writing could convince me of the existence of God then I would believe in the existence of God because of the Bible.

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ex_geekygab September 18 2011, 23:28:26 UTC
Maybe the question could be better worded: "You discover conclusive proof that God [does/does not] exist. Do you make it public?"

That way we don't get caught up in the medium so much as the content and the principle of whether we shared the proof.

Not that this approach skirts the underlying issue, though.

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rackstraw September 19 2011, 02:12:38 UTC
Well, here's one idea.

The document contains a simple incantation. Anyone who wants to can close her/his eyes, recite it, and be granted a telepathic interview.

The interview is with God who will satisfactorily address all of your questions.

-or-

The interview is with some pre-ancient, astral philosopher who can scientifically explain all seemingly metaphysical phenomena.

Though everyone in the world will probably have a different question set, they all interact with either the deity or the atheist.

But yes, the point of the exercise is to ask oneself if one would do the damage to society that either revelation would cause. If anyone in this community has done that, they're keeping it to themselves. :-)

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