View Poll Results: Why did Richard Dawkins fail to answer the questions?

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Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER.

This is a discussion on Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER. within the Atheism forums, part of the Atheism category; All of these questions are simple enough to answer. S1: There isn't one as an "objective" has to be "assigned". ...

  1. #11
    Member widdershins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER.

    All of these questions are simple enough to answer.

    S1: There isn't one as an "objective" has to be "assigned". To assume there is some objective is to assume some one or some thing assigned one is to assume there is a god of some sort. I make no such assumptions.

    S2: This one is just plain stupid. Who says the future of the universe or the human race is guaranteed? In fact, the future of the universe IS guaranteed, but not by a "who". It is guaranteed by the laws of physics, both those we understand and those we do not. No "who" is necessary for the way things work to keep working in the same way.

    S3: Of course I can. Even if the idea bothered me, which it does a bit, I admit, me WANTING there to be a guarantee in no way affects the realities of the universe. The universe does not care how I want it to act.

    S4: Again, completely stupid. You assume that if you BELIEVE your future is guaranteed then it IS guaranteed. Again I say the universe does not care how you want it to act. It will be the same, regardless what you believe, regardless what you want. Committing to a "guaranteed future" is in no way a guarantee that said future is real. Belief does not equal reality, which is what your argument is suggesting.

    S5: It sure isn't. For an intelligence to purposely create something requires intelligence. Pretty obvious there. HOWEVER, although I would have to put a lot of planning and research to create a virus that in no way diminishes the fact that it happens all on its own every day without one bit of planning.

    S6: First, Christianity did not eliminate these empires. 10 minutes of history searches will show you that every one of those empires suffered from years of trouble before eventually falling. The Byzantine empire split off the Roman empire, showing it was already in decline. They Egyptian empire was building more than it could afford followed by massive drought that finished them off. The Persian empire had about 5 decades of war with Greece where they were severely trounced in two separate wars which severely weakened them and is generally accepted as being the main cause of the fall of the empire.

    Second, are you really telling me that how great your god is can be shown by how many were slaughtered in his name? If that were true then, yes, you win. Nobody has ever been slaughtered in the name of atheism. I concede that.

    On a side note about your pathetic little poll, life is not multiple choice. He probably did not answer your idiotic questions because he considered it to be beneath him to do so. I imagine to him it's something along the lines of trying to explain quantum physics to the average six year old who KNOWS that it's just magic and if you say otherwise you are a liar.

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    Default Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER: The Real Objective.

    Quote Originally Posted by zensunni View Post
    The idea that there is a "objective of the human life" is an assumption on your part. So, what evidence do you have to support this?
    S:
    The non-real objective is incompatible with the real human life. However, if you claim that the human life is not real then, there is no meaning for our discussions or any serious and sincere work in our lives.

    Saeed

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    Senior Member Blondin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER.

    The question was, "What evidence do you have to support this?"

    Nobody asked you to repeat your assertion yet again.

    Please explain what evidence you have that there is a purpose or goal or objective of human (or any other) life.

    No matter how obvious it might seem to you or how much you might think it's just the way things should be or how much faith you have in the words of the prophet or any other bullshit "way of knowing", your assertions alone carry no weight here. If you want to be taken seriously you must produce a convincing argument, not just keep repeating unsupported postulates.

    Can we say this any clearer!?
    "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool." -- Richard Feynman

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    Member widdershins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER.

    Who says that not having an objective is incompatible with human life? Where is the evidence to support this? And are you talking about individual objectives such as I might assign myself, individual objectives as suggested by the idea of destiny or an overall objective for the entire human race? How might one divine this objective? If it is, as you seem to be saying, assigned by a greater being then there must be some perfect way for the creator to impart this knowledge onto his creation to avoid human error. Would that be you telling me about it? Because this other dude has been telling me I have to cut off my junk and join his cult to be saved. He's very persuasive. What makes your version of God better than his? How might I get knowledge of this objective free from human interpretation? If the creator is perfect and the message is perfect then there must be a method of delivery which is perfect so that we have the opportunity to get the untainted message. What is that method?

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    Default Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER. Objective?

    Quote Originally Posted by Blondin View Post
    The question was, "What evidence do you have to support this?"

    Nobody asked you to repeat your assertion yet again.

    Please explain what evidence you have that there is a purpose or goal or objective of human (or any other) life.

    No matter how obvious it might seem to you or how much you might think it's just the way things should be or how much faith you have in the words of the prophet or any other bullshit "way of knowing", your assertions alone carry no weight here. If you want to be taken seriously you must produce a convincing argument, not just keep repeating unsupported postulates.

    Can we say this any clearer!?
    S:
    It is a fact. Just as the computer without the compatible software is garbage; the human life without objective is a waste.

    Saeed

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    Senior Member Blondin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER. Objective?

    Quote Originally Posted by saeedalyousuf View Post
    S:
    It is a fact. Just as the computer without the compatible software is garbage; the human life without objective is a waste.

    Saeed
    No, it is not a fact.

    There is nothing in nature that leads one to believe that humanity or life in general has ever had any kind of objective or goal. The more we examine and the more we learn about nature the more it appears that shit just happens and various forms of natural selection cause trends in cumulative baby steps but there is no master plan or ideal goal toward which progress is headed.

    You display thinking processes like the puddle in Douglas Adams' puddle parable:
    I mean this is a great world, it’s fantastic. But our early man has a moment to reflect and he thinks to himself, ‘well, this is an interesting world that I find myself in’ and then he asks himself a very treacherous question, a question which is totally meaningless and fallacious, but only comes about because of the nature of the sort of person he is, the sort of person he has evolved into and the sort of person who has thrived because he thinks this particular way. Man the maker looks at his world and says ‘So who made this then?’ Who made this? – you can see why it’s a treacherous question. Early man thinks, ‘Well, because there’s only one sort of being I know about who makes things, whoever made all this must therefore be a much bigger, much more powerful and necessarily invisible, one of me and because I tend to be the strong one who does all the stuff, he’s probably male’. And so we have the idea of a god. Then, because when we make things we do it with the intention of doing something with them, early man asks himself , ‘If he made it, what did he make it for?’ Now the real trap springs, because early man is thinking, ‘This world fits me very well. Here are all these things that support me and feed me and look after me; yes, this world fits me nicely’ and he reaches the inescapable conclusion that whoever made it, made it for him.

    This is rather as if you imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, ‘This is an interesting world I find myself in – an interesting hole I find myself in – fits me rather neatly, doesn’t it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!’ This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it’s still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything’s going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise.
    When you look at the vastness of the universe and all the billions of galaxies containing billions of stars and the infinitesimally small amount of space and time that humans have occupied in this universe, the notion that it all was created for us humans or that us humans were put here for some special purpose is like one of the billions of bacteria occupying your small intestine imagining that your parents designed, conceived, nurtured and raised you for the sole purpose of providing a cozy, supporting environment for it.

    You could say it's a theory, but it would be more appropriate to call this type of thinking arrogant, delusional, counter-productive and dangerous.
    "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool." -- Richard Feynman

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    Default Re: Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER.

    S1:
    What is the real objective of the human life?
    None, life just is, it has no other objective than what each individual wants to give it.

    S2:
    Who can guarantee future existence of the universe and the human life other than the creator of the universe?
    I can't guarantee the future existence of the universe nor that of this planet, tomorrow we could be struck by an asteroid or something else and that would be the end for us.

    S3:
    Can you seriously and honestly believe in the non-guaranteed future?
    Yes, why wouldn't I

    S4:
    Why should any one truly devote and commit himself to a non-guaranteed future?
    You don't have to devote yourself to it, that's just reality live with it.

    S5:
    Is it possible for any one that you know to create any functional unit of the universe, i.e., from atoms to galaxies and from viruses to human beings, without knowledge, planning and work?
    1. The universe isn't perfect, as I said before the earth could cease to exist any time.
    2. Human beings (as well as any other living creature) aren't perfect either, we have LOTS of flaws, fortunately they aren't that many, thanks to evolution.


    S6:
    The Jews, the Christians and the Muslims are the living testimony for the works of the prophets, Mosses, Jesus and Muhammad which was demonstrated by challenging and eliminating the mightiest empires of their times i.e., the empires of the Pharaohs, the Romans, the Byzantinians and the Persians; besides establishing belief in the eternal creator of the universe. What comparable works did the atheists do to prove the credibility of atheism?

    1.Nope, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Flat-earth believers, etc. are just living testimony of human stupidity even in this modern ages.
    2. Most scientists today (you know, those people who improve our lives by devoting their lives to science and technology) are atheists, you're welcome.
    Last edited by Supaman89; 10-22-2010 at 12:01 AM.

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    Default Re: Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER.

    Last edited by widdershins; 10-22-2010 at 03:11 PM.

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    Default Re: Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER.

    ...

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    Default Re: Richard Dawkins: The Question Didn't and CANNOT ANSWER.

    42.

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