philosophy questions

[festive1]

Why do so many university students come online to ask these questions instead of attempting to expand their personal circles by actually going out and meeting different people?? You're in college for crying out loud! Go forth, meet people, instead of insulating your small, small world.

[Napoléon]

Why do so many university students come online to ask these questions instead of attempting to expand their personal circles by actually going out and meeting different people?? You're in college for crying out loud! Go forth, meet people, instead of insulating your small, small world.

Another reason why it reeks of fish nets.

[phi5100]

My sincere apologies for any false impressions I gave. I came here, because I knew that I was very likely to get responses to the questions. Also, when I initially brought up having some questions for a class (mentioned via chat with The_Germans_are_coming), I said that I preferred chatting over a forum so that flowing conversation was easier than longer responses being posted time after time. But it's understandable that the rest of you were unaware of that. I also, however, figured that posting in a forum presumed conversation/discussion. Once again, I'm sorry for any devious or false impressions I caused. And I'm not upset, but I still forgive you per your request.

[Dee Dee Ramone]

5. Is it rational for you to risk your life to save a stranger?

I think risking your life is not so much rational, but a reflex. The moral ground might back your decision, but don't we all save lives without thinking?

[Cato]

I have no problem sharing my responses to your questions, but am curioius about a few things first. You aren't the first person to visit seeking help for coursework. Would you mind sharing the actual assignment? Nobody has done this before.

I couldn't help but consider your username relative to your request, it reminded me of the format of collegiate course designations. A quick search resulted in only one meaningful match: PHI5100 Christian Philosophy: Worldview, Western taught by Dr. Bruce Little at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Is this your class?

My other observation had to do with the questions themselves. These are fairly typical in lists titled something like "12 Questions to Ask Atheists" that appear in YouTube videos or apologetics blogs. Here's an example:
http://wellspentjourney.wordpress.com/20...atheist-2/

As I compared the questions I realized that some are almost verbatim. Here are wellspentjourney's similar questions in the order of your list. *-denotes almost verbatim (1*, 8*, 6, 7, 11*, 10). Coincidence?

[Something completely different]

Ok maybe I wasnt preceice enought and you are ernest.

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No

Are you saying that the universe doesn't have a beginning? Or that the beginning that it does have, doesn't require a cause?

Well.I dont know if it had a beginning, because no one knows and the science of physics is currently trying to figure that out. - So I`ll wait for them.

And I dont think that the universe, with or without beginning has a cause.

Your question:
2. In what terms do you define the value of human life? Is the life of a human child more or less valuable, for example, than that of an endangered species of primate?

my first answere:
No. I dont define the value of human life. My sociaty does, which is a democratic pluralistic sociaty - I therefor stick to and defend this set of values.

further question by you on question 1:

So based on your society, what are those values, as you best understand them? As per the example, how would you 'rank' the value of a human child? Going along with this, for another example, (when) do you believe a child is a human and has human rights, in the womb?

Most of my "moral" decisions depend on the situation I am in.
I guess in philosophical terms, when it comes to "moral" philosophy,
I try to find a middle way between Emanual Kants Catigorical Imperative and John Stuart Mills Utilitarism.

Your first question 3

3. Does your worldview ground free will - which is required for consciousness, rationality, moral judgments, moral choices, and moral responsibility?

My first reply to 3

No

Your second question 3

So you don't believe that we have free will? Don't you make choices daily? If not, then everything in our lives must be pre-determined. But who or what determines them? The only person I could even begin to perceive as pre-determining all of life, would be someone who is, always was, and always will be in existence, and created & controls it all...which would be God. If there's no free will, as you've stated, then should we even have discipline & punishment, because no one would actually be responsible for their actions.

No I do think there is free will. I just dont think it alwas determines our actions.

Your first question 4

4. What are the grounds for (1) moral values and (2) moral duties?

My first answere 4
[quote]see question 2

You're saying that each individual society sets the grounds for what is morally right, what has value, and what people's moral duties are? What determines each of these societies or cultures?

Correct. I believe that the determination of moral values by a sociaty is a learning process - sociaty learns from mistakes.

your first question 5

5. Is it rational for you to risk your life to save a stranger?

my first reply 5

depends on the circumstances

your second question 5

What might some of those circumstances be in which you think it'd be rational to risk your life for a stranger? And to not? ...regardless of whether or not it's rational, is it morally right to risk your life for a stranger's?

I really cant think of anything.

your first question 6

6. Which religion, if any, were you raised in? What were the factors that led to your leaving that religion?

my first answere 6

Catholic mother and anglican father.
Left because of the devides I observed and the disgracefull behavior of some religious.

Were those divides between Catholic and Anglican, or within one of them? Have you had interactions with other Christians that hasn't been, as you would say, " disgraceful"? If you've not, regardless of their specific denomination within Christianity, I'm sorry. Those people are obviously not living out their beliefs...and/or possibly don't understand the truth (or Truth) to it.

The divides between all. Every single sect claims to be the single true one - therefor I concluded at a young age - non can be the right one.

"disgracefull" for example - whitnessing things as 9\11, the catholic child rape scandel, anders bering breviks massacre in norway and others.
Noticing how religion can be used to justify the worst attrocities or how criminals hide behind the mask of faith to get away with crimes.

Personal encounters with religious people were mostly positive.

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[phi5100]

1) The assignment is to interview an atheist or agnostic with the questions our professor supplied...with freedom to ask other questions, share our own replies, etc. as we wish. This is our second of these assignments this semester -- the first with different questions.

2) That is my class, but not my professor.

3) The questions simply go along with things we've been learning about and discussing in class the latter half of the semester. The first set of questions we had went along with the former half of the semester's topics. The fact that these questions are "typical" shouldn't automatically make them troublesome. There are plenty of secular and religious writings and people which/whom discuss these topics and bounce ideas/questions off of each other, even if unknowingly or if they don't work together. I do not know the blog or the author of the blog.

[Cato]

1) The assignment is to interview an atheist or agnostic with the questions our professor supplied...with freedom to ask other questions, share our own replies, etc. as we wish. This is our second of these assignments this semester -- the first with different questions.

2) That is my class, but not my professor.

3) The questions simply go along with things we've been learning about and discussing in class the latter half of the semester. The first set of questions we had went along with the former half of the semester's topics. The fact that these questions are "typical" shouldn't automatically make them troublesome. There are plenty of secular and religious writings and people which/whom discuss these topics and bounce ideas/questions off of each other, even if unknowingly or if they don't work together. I do not know the blog or the author of the blog.

Fair enough. I'll draft a response for your consideration.

[Kousbroek]

1) The assignment is to interview an atheist or agnostic with the questions our professor supplied...

..... you are in dire need of a new professor ....

[phi5100]

Thank you for your further explanation.

Well.I dont know if it had a beginning, because no one knows and the science of physics is currently trying to figure that out. - So I`ll wait for them.

And I dont think that the universe, with or without beginning has a cause.

We actually do know that the world had a beginning, as Scripture tells us in Genesis 1 (God created the heavens and the earth...). And many scientific discoveries actually match up to the accounts in the Bible.

Most of my "moral" decisions depend on the situation I am in.
I guess in philosophical terms, when it comes to "moral" philosophy,
I try to find a middle way between Emanual Kants Catigorical Imperative and John Stuart Mills Utilitarism.

So your morals are completely relativistic and have no basis aside from yourself? ...which, by the way, doesn't fit with what you said about morals being formed by society. Also, I'm not sure you understand what I'm asking, because you keep going back to morals here, which are addressed later, when I'm talking about the value of human life. :-\

No I do think there is free will. I just dont think it alwas determines our actions.

Awesome, I agree with you that we have free will. But if our free will isn't what determines all of our actions, shouldn't there be something that accounts for the rest?

Correct. I believe that the determination of moral values by a sociaty is a learning process - sociaty learns from mistakes.

I really cant think of anything.

If you can't think of any examples either way, what is your opinion based on?

The divides between all. Every single sect claims to be the single true one - therefor I concluded at a young age - non can be the right one.

"disgracefull" for example - whitnessing things as 9\11, the catholic child rape scandel, anders bering breviks massacre in norway and others.
Noticing how religion can be used to justify the worst attrocities or how criminals hide behind the mask of faith to get away with crimes.

Personal encounters with religious people were mostly positive.

True that all religions claim to be the single true one. But because all can't be right, doesn't mean that all are wrong. There should be one that is right. And the fact, alone, that there are so many denominations within Christianity could very well point to it being the truth. The discrepancies between denominations mostly boil down to the "unimportant" theological issues, while there remain some main points that are disagreed with by a few. Those minor things, aren't reason to throw out Christianity altogether.

Suffering, sin, and other terrible things like you've mentioned have an explanation, too. Just because God allows such things to happen, doesn't mean, at all, that he condones them or likes them. And some of that is due to punishment from such as sins.