Modal Argument: The Mind is Not the Brain

[bennyboy]

The other two are poor parallels, because they don't have the same issue with ambiguity, e.g.:

a + sym + metric(al) = not + same + measure
(a + sym) + metric(al) = (not same) measure
a + (sym + metric(al)) = not (same measure)
Which are so close that you wouldn't worry about the difference.

The point is that "sym" is not a root, as "theos" is. "sym" is a prefix, and so is "a-." If you can find another case where "a-" is attached to a root rather than to another prefix, you'd have the same ambiguity issue.

Nope. "A" in front of anything, means "absence of".

Really? You want to keep picking at it?

If I have the word, theos (God), and I indicate an absence of it with "a," I have atheos. If I want to form an ideology around this idea, I will call it atheos+ism = atheism.

If I have the word theos (God), and I form an ideology around this idea, I will call it theism. If I indicate an absence of theism, I will call it atheism.

Your understanding of the eymology is too simple. It's also historically inaccurate, as the word wasn't coined to mean what you mean when you use it. Perhaps you are confused by the disappearing "s," but that's just a spelling rule, kind of like "drop -e and add -ing," not an issue with meaning.

That is the pattern. What was your SAT score ?

9 inches. Are there any other irrelevant measures that you want to introduce, or should we go to history links, philosophy sites and dictionaries, where I will bury you with dozens and dozens of cases where atheism is used in both ways?

I have facts on my side. You have only a half understanding of the joining of prefixes to roots on your side. Don't believe me? Let's 1-on-1 it. 1, 2, 3, 4. . . I declare a link war!