"... (Freethinkers are supposed to be free of dogma, yet a requirement of nontheism is indistinguishable from a dogma.) That's the best argument for not including nontheism in the definition of freethought. If anyone offers a relevant criticism of that logic, then I will respond...." - Aaron
Well said Aaron, and I agree. On Oct 29, 11:58 am, Aaron <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I don't want to get sidetracked, Taylor. We can talk about the > practical conclusions later. Right now, I'm not even sure that > everyone is following the simple logic. Assume we agree on the > specifics X. We then have: > > A freethinker uses X to arrive at his beliefs. > Han Solo used X to arrive at his theism (or any belief Y). > Therefore, Han Solo is a freethinker. > > Several people have objected that they can't imagine how anyone could > arrive at theism via X. But that's not relevant to the logical > soundness of the conclusion. The only way to *logically* exclude > theism from the above conclusion is to specifically include nontheism > in the major premise. In other words, you must have: "A freethinker > uses X to arrive at his beliefs, but only if he arrives at > nontheism." > > The extra requirement is not advisable because it makes freethought > internally inconsistent. (Freethinkers are supposed to be free of > dogma, yet a requirement of nontheism is indistinguishable from a > dogma.) That's the best argument for not including nontheism in the > definition of freethought. If anyone offers a relevant criticism of > that logic, then I will respond. > > Otherwise, the next step is to talk about the practical (as opposed to > purely logical) implications. That's where most of you are coming > from, I think, but it is important to me that I start at the > beginning. It helps me avoid "retrofitting" my epistemology to > exclude uncomfortable conclusions. > > Aaron > > On Oct 29, 12:00 pm, Taylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > <<Freethought is the use of logic, >> > > > You'd need to add the criteria of 1) *valid* logic and 2) true > > propositions.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Memphis Freethought Alliance" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/memphisfreethoughtalliance?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
