Comments on: To my Atheist readers http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/ English scratches and Italian notes written by Carlo Perassi Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:35:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Carlo http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1777 Carlo Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:38:48 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1777 Thomas: I suppose that my friend David wasn't trying to write a scientific discourse... it was just a funny example to say that people need to believe (as they ask themselves the "Ultimate Why" you've cited). Of course his example is not an inference... as - after all - the amusing "proofs" collected on "<a href="http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/GodProof.htm" rel="nofollow">Over Three Hundred Proofs of God’s Existence</a>". By the way, one of my favourites is proof #17.:) Thomas: I suppose that my friend David wasn’t trying to write a scientific discourse… it was just a funny example to say that people need to believe (as they ask themselves the “Ultimate Why” you’ve cited). Of course his example is not an inference… as - after all - the amusing “proofs” collected on “Over Three Hundred Proofs of God’s Existence“.
By the way, one of my favourites is proof #17.:)

]]> By: Thomas Jefferson http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1776 Thomas Jefferson Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:05:40 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1776 I disagree. Frankly, I do not think the question "why do people believe" to be relevant at all. And, honestly, I do believe that your argument is pretentious, first of all everybody is different and although you can "cluster" the different reasons still you cannot generalize. You might have seen many people believing because they saw the sea but that is not the only reason why people believe. And secondly, you cannot eve tell if that was the only reason for the people you observed to believe. And last but not least, that might just prove correlation between the two events (being at the sea and believing), but not a causal-effect relationship, which you would like to infer. It is amazing how Atheists often tend to be more religious than believers in their constant effort to debunk other people's belief. And sometimes with very very naive approaches such as the one Carlo previously cited. There is no clash with reason, simply because reason i limited and will never give you an answer to the Ultimate Why question. That's the only, plain, simple matter of fact. I disagree. Frankly, I do not think the question “why do people believe” to be relevant at all. And, honestly, I do believe that your argument is pretentious, first of all everybody is different and although you can “cluster” the different reasons still you cannot generalize. You might have seen many people believing because they saw the sea but that is not the only reason why people believe. And secondly, you cannot eve tell if that was the only reason for the people you observed to believe. And last but not least, that might just prove correlation between the two events (being at the sea and believing), but not a causal-effect relationship, which you would like to infer.

It is amazing how Atheists often tend to be more religious than believers in their constant effort to debunk other people’s belief. And sometimes with very very naive approaches such as the one Carlo previously cited.
There is no clash with reason, simply because reason i limited and will never give you an answer to the Ultimate Why question.

That’s the only, plain, simple matter of fact.

]]> By: Carlo http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1771 Carlo Thu, 20 Dec 2007 07:42:01 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1771 David: thanks, your sentence about "the proportion of non-believers" gave me the first laugh of the day. :) I agree with you that they believe because they want to or need to... but, as you know, I'm quite far for the sea right now and that puts me in the position to think more freely on this subject. :) David: thanks, your sentence about “the proportion of non-believers” gave me the first laugh of the day. :)
I agree with you that they believe because they want to or need to… but, as you know, I’m quite far for the sea right now and that puts me in the position to think more freely on this subject. :)

]]> By: David Freeman http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1769 David Freeman Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:34:06 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1769 I don't want to become embroiled too deeply in this debate, but as a sailor, I have observed that at sea, as wind speed and wave height increase, the proportion of non-believers diminishes rapidly. If there is a God (and I would describe myself as a "don't know") one has to wonder whether he would behave more like a machine or more like a human being. The more important question is "Why do people believe?" The answer, I fear, is because they want to or need to. I don’t want to become embroiled too deeply in this debate, but as a sailor, I have observed that at sea, as wind speed and wave height increase, the proportion of non-believers diminishes rapidly.

If there is a God (and I would describe myself as a “don’t know”) one has to wonder whether he would behave more like a machine or more like a human being.

The more important question is “Why do people believe?” The answer, I fear, is because they want to or need to.

]]> By: Andreas Gohr http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1748 Andreas Gohr Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:52:07 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1748 Thomas, wasn't the answer to that one "42"? ;-) Thomas, wasn’t the answer to that one “42″? ;-)

]]> By: Carlo http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1747 Carlo Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:09:43 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1747 Thomas: oh, *that* Why. :) That reminds me of the well known sentence "to boldly go where no man has gone before". We can't reach that "Why" (perhaps we don't even care to reach it) but we ought to try to boldly go there. :) Thomas: oh, *that* Why. :)
That reminds me of the well known sentence “to boldly go where no man has gone before”. We can’t reach that “Why” (perhaps we don’t even care to reach it) but we ought to try to boldly go there. :)

]]> By: Thomas Jefferson http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1745 Thomas Jefferson Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:32:48 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1745 Carlo: the Ultimate Why, which is completely outside both the reach and the scope of Science. Carlo: the Ultimate Why, which is completely outside both the reach and the scope of Science.

]]> By: Carlo http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1743 Carlo Mon, 17 Dec 2007 07:43:49 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1743 Thomas: sorry... about what? :) Thomas: sorry… about what? :)

]]> By: Thomas Jefferson http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1739 Thomas Jefferson Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:12:48 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1739 Still a question holds: Why? Still a question holds: Why?

]]> By: Carlo http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1726 Carlo Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:37:58 +0000 http://perassi.org/2007/12/15/to-my-atheist-readers/#comment-1726 Andreas: the core point is when you write "until proven wrong"... IMHO it can't be proven as right/wrong because, semantically speaking, the proposition "God exists" is meaningless. To make it simple: the question "Does God exist?" is like "What is the pressure of the yellow color?". Both are valid questions grammatically but we can't measure the pressure of a color or declare/negate the existence of God. Andreas: the core point is when you write “until proven wrong”… IMHO it can’t be proven as right/wrong because, semantically speaking, the proposition “God exists” is meaningless.
To make it simple: the question “Does God exist?” is like “What is the pressure of the yellow color?”. Both are valid questions grammatically but we can’t measure the pressure of a color or declare/negate the existence of God.

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