(November 8, 2016 at 5:15 am)Irrational Wrote:(November 8, 2016 at 4:56 am)TheHuxleyAgnostic Wrote: Must be misunderstanding.
X = gods exist
A: has a belief "gods exist", has no belief "gods do not exist"
B: has no belief "gods exist", has no belief "gods do not exist"
C: has no belief "gods exist", has a belief "gods do not exist"
b:g|~b:~g
~b:g|~b:~g
~b:g|b:~g
Ummm...
If you believe the store is open, you're not believing the store is closed.
If you have no clue if the store is open, or closed, then you have no belief, either way.
If you believe the store is closed, you're not believing the store is open.
Your wording confused me.
If I have a belief that "God exists" is true, then I also have a belief that "God does not exist" is false.
But I get what you're saying now.
Like Jesster was saying a belief is either on or off. My point is that more than a single belief/non-belief is in play, based on an objective question, rather than being dictated by a single subjective question.
Objectively: the cat is alive (not dead) or that the cat is dead (not alive). Which means people have a few different options for what they subjectively believe.
X = the cat is alive
Do you believe X is true?
Do you believe X is false?
YN: alive-ist (belief the cat is alive, no belief the cat is dead)
NY: dead-ist (belief the cat is dead, no belief the cat is alive)
NN: agnostic (a person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something; no belief the cat is alive, or dead)
In some rare cases, you might find yourself a Schrodinger...
YY: Schrodinger (belief the cat is both alive and dead)
Sure, you can dictate a single question, as Jesster does ... saying "the question is" ... and, only offer two options, but that's the false dichotomy.
Do you believe X is true?
Y: aliveists + Schrodinger
N: deadists + agnostics
Being a deadist and being an agnostic are two different things. It's nonsensical to consider an agnostic a weak/negative/soft deadist, or a deadist a strong/positive/hard agnostic.
X = the total number of stars in the universe is odd
Do you believe X is true?
Do you believe X is false?
YN: odd-ist
NY: even-ist
NN: agnostic
X = The store is open
Do you believe X is true?
Do you believe X is false?
YN: open-ist
NY: closed-ist
NN: agnostic
Are you attracted to people of the opposite sex?
Are you attracted to people of the same sex?
YN: heterosexual (sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex, not sexually attracted to people of the same sex)
NY: homosexual (not sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex, sexually attracted to people of the same sex)
NN: asexual (not sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex, not sexually attracted to people of the same sex)
YY: bisexual (sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex, sexually attracted to people of the same sex)
Sure, you can dictate a single question, as Jesster does ... saying "the question is" ... and, only offer two options, but that's the false dichotomy.
Are you attracted to people of the opposite sex?
Y: heterosexuals + bisexuals
N: homosexuals + asexuals
It would be nonsensical to label asexuals weak/negative/soft homosexuals, or homosexuals strong/positive/hard asexuals.
Most of the debate centres around label ~Pist. The people who originally put the word together, put it together ~P + ist = someone who believes not P. But, others have read it as ~ + Pist = not someone who believes P. One describes position C specifically. The other covers positions B and C, and then requires qualifying words to tell the two apart again.
