Saturday, September 21, 2019

Moral Conundrum


Christian philosopher Victor Reppert raises an interesting question about moral choices (here).  He describes a hypothetical situation where one is faced with a dilemma - to choose between allowing a man to be murdered, or stealing a million dollars to prevent the murder from happening. This is his post in its entirety (which contains a mistake that I have bracketed):
Here is an interesting ethical question. Suppose Smith knows for sure that if he steals $1.000,000, Jones will not murder Williams. But if he does not steal $1,000,000, then Jones will [not] murder Williams. If he steals, of course he's a thief, but if he doesn't steal, does that mean he's an accessory before the fact to murder? See what trouble you get into when you ask questions like this to a philosopher? - Reppert
It's interesting to Victor, presumably, because of the moral conundrum.  The unfortunate person presented with this choice has no way to escape the commission of a sin.  No matter what his choice is, he is doing something wrong in the eyes of God.  And you get yourself into trouble by asking a philosopher to pontificate on this question.  I think what Victor really means to say is that you get the philosopher into trouble by presenting a question he is not prepared to answer.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

What Is Real Knowledge?


In my regular (though somewhat less frequent of late) perusal of internet blogs, I often find myself confronted with the smug attitudes of theists who not only think they have all the answers, but they know it with a level of certainty that gives them license (they suppose) to talk down to those who are skeptical of their "knowledge", and treat them with disdain, as if they are not only lacking in understanding, but willfully so, and thus deserving of incivility.  The expression of this attitude may be manifested as a stubborn refusal to give any consideration to what the skeptic has to say, or open hostility, including all the hatred and scorn that the theist wishes to heap upon the hapless skeptic.

This smug, cocksure attitude can be found in the Old Testament:
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Poor Understanding, Bad Analogy


Joe Hinman has done it again.  Yet another example of his arrogant "We are better than you" attitude appears in his Christian Cadre blog under the title Christianity and falsifiability.  This article, at the outset, seems to promise an explanation of how Christianity is falsifiable, despite the fact that the existence of God may not be.  He says: "But even though God per se can't be falsified does that mean Christianity can't be falsified?"  But the article quickly retreats from that implied promise, abandoning any discussion of falsifiability as a legitimate epistemological tool, or how it can be applied to Christianity.  It focuses instead on phenomenology as justification for belief, and how it is superior to an empirical or scientific-based approach.  (Hint: by Joe's reckoning, if it doesn't give you the answer you want to hear, then it's the wrong approach.)

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Transcendental Blunder


Metacrock (Joe Hinman) has outdone himself with yet another philosophical argument for God that defies logic and reason.  This is nothing new.  Some time ago, he presented his Argument From God Corrolate [sic], which is the essential reasoning behind his book The Trace of God.  I dissected that argument (here), and showed that its conclusion is based on logical fallacy.  But since it forms what is basically the thesis of his book, the fact of his core argument being logically invalid is something that Joe is unwilling to accept.  It would reveal the whole book - his magnum opus - to be built upon logical fallacy, and that's something that Joe could never accept.  Nor will he ever directly answer the criticisms I made of his argument.  He prefers instead to simply ignore those criticisms, lest he be placed in a position of having to choose between his life's work and the rules of logic.  He finds it more comfortable to keep his head buried in the sand.

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

The Circularity of Aquinas' Fifth Way


In a discussion with the Quantum Thomist, I made a statement to the effect that the Fifth Way of Aquinas exhibits circular reasoning.  The Fifth Way is one of Thomas Aquinas' five famous arguments for the existence of God.  It is also known as his Teleological Argument, or his Argument From Design.  It is based on the presumption of teleology in nature.  Of course, my claim that this argument is circular is something that Thomists don't like to hear.  Most dedicated Thomists are convinced beyond any doubt that the logic of Thomas Aquinas is beyond reproach.  The impeccable logic of Aquinas is the basis of their Thomistic philosophy and the foundation of their theistic belief.  How can someone like me (who isn't even formally educated in philosophy beyond Phil 101) take issue with such a master of logic and philosophical thought?  I will attempt to explain.