RE: Proving a negative
July 5, 2013 at 9:24 pm
(This post was last modified: July 5, 2013 at 9:25 pm by genkaus.)
(July 5, 2013 at 12:21 pm)pineapplebunnybounce Wrote: Wow you really don't get it do you. Practicality matters in the real world. Every second there's someone out there claiming something. They are the ones who have to convince people that what they're claiming is worth anyone's time. No one is obligated to go check out their claims. God is not worth my time, because its chance of existing is so very very slim. For all intents and purposes it might as well not exist.
Who's abandoning intellect here? This is absurd. If i were to devote my time to go search for this god i'm abandoning tons of things that i'm doing right now. Why should god be more important? when there's no proof at all that this thing is more than a human imagination?
In fact I don't even know why people bother to call themselves agnostic. I don't even know why dawkins came up with a 7 point scale. These things are not worth the time. Well at least no one has convinced me that it's worth the time to consider god exists.
And by the way, that is how research works in this world. Not every project gets funded, because there's limited resources. You have to write a proposal and convince people to spend money on your project. So now i guess all those who wants us to take god seriously must convince us that it's not a waste of time.
If you go around saying that you are not obligated to check out any claim without proof, then you are abandoning intellect for a hasty generalization. While "claimant brings the proof" is a useful thumb-rule, it is not the mantra to live by. Often, it is in your interest and worth your time to check out a claim even if you have been given no evidence for it.
As it happens, it would seem that god is worth your time, since you seem to have considered the probability of his existence. You seem to have done it without asking anyone for research money and determined that there is no reason to consider it anything more than a figment of imagination. So, it'd seem, your words and your deeds don't match up.
(July 5, 2013 at 12:26 pm)Minimalist Wrote:(July 5, 2013 at 10:30 am)Tonus Wrote: I would admit that I cannot prove that there is no god.
You can't prove that there are no invisible pink unicorns drinking margaritas at a Tiajuana Bar on Mardi Gras, either. What do you suppose the probabilities are, though?
Why not? I can call the bartender to ask if something invisible is drinking margaritas.
