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Being can come from non-being
#1
Being can come from non-being
Prove me wrong...
I don't think there's a coherent deductive argument that can be made to prove this assertion false. Of course, it is far from clear what exactly is meant by being or non-being, but I wager that for any ontologically interesting definition of these terms, there is no way to show the statement to be fallacious.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition

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#2
RE: Being can come from non-being
At work.

Sorry.

Just for clarification, you are asking if 'Something' can arise/come from 'Not-something'.

Since the 'Variant' statement would seem to be 'An event' or 'Happening' can not arise with out some previous/a priory 'Event' or 'Instigator'.

Yes/Correct?

Cheers.
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#3
RE: Being can come from non-being
(November 21, 2019 at 7:04 pm)Alex K Wrote: Prove me wrong...
I don't think there's a coherent deductive argument that can be made to prove this assertion false. Of course, it is far from clear what exactly is meant by being or non-being, but I wager that for any ontologically interesting definition of these terms, there is no way to show the statement to be fallacious.

Maybe you're right. But I can't make sense of how something that wasn't just suddenly is and with no prior material or whatever.
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#4
RE: Being can come from non-being
(November 21, 2019 at 9:14 pm)Grandizer Wrote:
(November 21, 2019 at 7:04 pm)Alex K Wrote: Prove me wrong...
I don't think there's a coherent deductive argument that can be made to prove this assertion false. Of course, it is far from clear what exactly is meant by being or non-being, but I wager that for any ontologically interesting definition of these terms, there is no way to show the statement to be fallacious.

Maybe you're right. But I can't make sense of how something that wasn't just suddenly is and with no prior material or whatever.

Well thank goodness you cannot make sense of it.
If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the Earth.
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#5
RE: Being can come from non-being
It's a very enthusiastic statement.




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#6
RE: Being can come from non-being
Well, I'm not certain that the fertilized embryo qualifies as a "being", per se. I think that that is where the religious argument fails. Even a newborn babe doesn't even realize it exists for some time. Yet my sons eventually became aware beings. It was pretty obvious. They just existed, but at some point it was obvious to me that an awareness came. There are psychological studies that report on this.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
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#7
RE: Being can come from non-being
(November 21, 2019 at 10:39 pm)Fireball Wrote: Well, I'm not certain that the fertilized embryo qualifies as a "being", per se. I think that that is where the religious argument fails. Even a newborn babe doesn't even realize it exists for some time. Yet my sons eventually became aware beings. It was pretty obvious. They just existed, but at some point it was obvious to me that an awareness came. There are psychological studies that report on this.

I think you're talking about some different matter here. You're talking about cognizant beings as opposed to being in the more general sense.
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#8
RE: Being can come from non-being
To my knowledge, any argument against being coming from non-being hinges on a chain of causality; but if there's absolutely nothing, there's no causality either. What would keep non-being from becoming being?
I'm not anti-Christian. I'm anti-stupid.
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#9
RE: Being can come from non-being
In fact, this is one of the few questuons that makes me wonder, "is there a god?"

Why is there something, rather than nothing? That old chestnut.

Obviously, not having the answer to this question doesnt really, in any way, make gods existence necessary or even probable, but it does make me wonder.

Then again, how many scientific phenomena, preivously not understood, caused people to ask this same question over the course of human history?

So, while the thought may cross my mind, I see no reason to give it any serious consideration, and am comfortable simply saying, "we dont have the answer to that"
If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the Earth.
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#10
RE: Being can come from non-being
Consider the size of Earth compared to the size of the Universe.

Now consider how likely the answer to the Big Questions will be found here.
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