The Disenchanted Naturalist's Guide to Reality

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Awesomelyglorious
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31 Jan 2010, 2:41 pm

Is Alex Rosenburg right or wrong on reality? (I know, I hate just cutting and pasting, but I think this is interesting)

http://onthehuman.org/2009/11/the-disen ... o-reality/

Do you think that Luke Meulhauser's Enchanted Naturalism is a good interpretation of reality as well? Even if we grant Alex Rosenburg's fact claims?

http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=5806

What are your thoughts on the nature of reality?



Sand
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04 Feb 2010, 12:49 am

An exceedingly well thought out piece along the lines of my own views but the concept of nested arms races seems to me an over simplification of human cultural development. There is much more to society than conflict.

Much of the objection to the acceptance of Darwin is based on the concept that the universe is essentially a succession of random events with no conceived goal but the absence of a goal does not necessarily make it a meaningless interaction. Each stage of evolutionary development does not start from scratch so that an eye or a wing must suddenly pop into being as a new type of creature appears and the usefulness of interim stages may not be established for all developments but enough have to establish that the pattern is there. The nature of the evolutionary process is basically one of filtration wherein life creates variations of current forms and environment destroys those that cannot survive under current circumstances. The human mind in its creative operation of thinking more or less parallels this process in its abstract modeling using mathematics or graphics or whatever us possible systems are useful. In effect the operation of evolution and human creativity are the same processes with different methods. In other words, the universe thinks without being a conscious mind.



ruveyn
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04 Feb 2010, 10:38 am

Sand wrote:
In effect the operation of evolution and human creativity are the same processes with different methods. In other words, the universe thinks without being a conscious mind.


That is the way it appears to critters like us who like to analogize nature as a living thing. Mostly the Cosmos is devoid of consciousness. It is as dumb as a sackful of bricks.

What is happening is matter and energy doing according to their nature.

ruveyn



Sand
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04 Feb 2010, 11:03 am

ruveyn wrote:
Sand wrote:
In effect the operation of evolution and human creativity are the same processes with different methods. In other words, the universe thinks without being a conscious mind.


That is the way it appears to critters like us who like to analogize nature as a living thing. Mostly the Cosmos is devoid of consciousness. It is as dumb as a sackful of bricks.

What is happening is matter and energy doing according to their nature.

ruveyn


Exactly and although you may be smarter than a bag of bricks, when you both get thrown out of a window you both hit the ground more or less at the same time.

I never claimed the universe was alive, merely that evolution solves problems.