RE: Pascal's Wager
September 2, 2008 at 8:46 am
(This post was last modified: September 2, 2008 at 9:01 am by Pete.)
(September 1, 2008 at 9:55 pm)Jason Jarred Wrote: I generally don't care what others believe, but personally I like my beliefs to be based on fact (ie observable, demonstrable, replicable evidence. Scientific!).Observable: Nobody has ever observed the infationary epoc of the Big-Bang.
Demonstratable: The existance of virtual particles can't be demonstrated.
Replicable: Ball lightning can't be replicated .. at least not yet.
Quote:However, at the point at which others beliefs begin to affect my life adversely, ..That's never happend to me personally. What kinds of things are you thinking of?
Quote:It is disturbing that when many of those people are questioned, they refuse or are unable to answer the questions, and are unwilling to question their own beliefs (though many people fall into this category, not just theists).Why do you find that disturbing? Are atheists willing to question their own beliefs? I find it more frustrating than disturbing.
Quote:Pascal's wager however, well I don't really care if people decide to buy into that, but again - as long as they don't go on to push their beliefs in my face.Its sad that some theists think they need to do that.
Quote:As far as I'm aware we have theories, based on observable scientific fact, demonstrable and replicable evidence to explain many of the 'laws of nature'. Isn't the term 'law of nature' another way of describing the theories that have become accepted due to the overwhelming amount of evidence presented? funny how you would claim that a theory/law cannot be proved, when the very definition of a theory or law (in the sense you have used it) is that it is proved, and keeps reocurring each and every time it's tested!Instead of my explaining this, how about I upload the first chapter of one of my texts on theoretical physics which discusses the philosophy and logic of physics. Its a wonderful chapter on the philosophy of physics and will give you a clear explanation of what I'm referring to. The author is really good at that. And its only a few pages long. The author is a well known physicist and highly respected.
The article is located here - http://www.geocities.com/pmb_phy/philosophy_physics.pdf
