Question by Starman: Atheists: Do you engage in philosophical speculation on the nature of reality?
The impression I get from atheists is that they are only interested in being presented with cold, hard facts and objective scientific evidence. That is fine, but in the areas where science does not have answers and for which we do not have concrete facts, do you engage in metaphysical philosophical discussions, speculate on the nature of reality, and contemplate whether there may be a common essence or source underlying all that exists? Or are such mental exercises a waste of time?
Best answer:
Answer by xanzibar
Not really, no. I like mental exercise that produce results.
What do you think? Answer below!
Theres no solid evidence. Why should we waste our time?
What would you accept to be used against you in the court of law?
cold, hard objective evidence, or emotional subjective speculation ? you tell me
In the event that science doesn’t have an answer for something, I accept that there is no answer for it. I don’t make up my own answers like Christians do.
“Or are such mental exercises a waste of time?”
That isn’t a mental exercise. That’s being intellectually dishonest.
Some atheists usualy do not speculate they take someone elses word for it if it can feed thier ego.
Yes, but I stop at “making sh!t up because it feels good”.
If science doesn’t have answers, I don’t think that give you license to make shit up.
Not very often. Solipsism is kind of boring – my personal view is that if you cannot accept as true what can be seen, then there isn’t any point discussing anything at all.
Metaphysics goes a fair bit beyond the nature of reality, and the questions it poses if you assume that reality is real are far more interesting than whining on about what is actually real. The contemplation of a “common essence” isn’t a waste of time, but it’s no more profound than postulating a deity.
Your last sentence is my answer. Life is what it is. It can be as cruel as it is kind. Live it well, because it is the only life that is CERTAIN to exist (certainly there is NO evidence for any life after the end of mortal life).
Life would be smoother if less people made s*hit up to answer questions beyond the scientific and natural realms.
reciting myths isnt much of a mental excercise and i do study metaphysics and quantum physics goes into a lot of strange and different areas such as interconnectedness and time space theories.
Yes.
That’s one of the reasons I com to R&S.
But the only arguments I’ve ever heard from “believers” in this matter are really uneducated, naive and immature. Sorry…
yes I do engage in metaphysical philosophical discussions, speculate on the nature of reality, and contemplate whether there may be a common essence or source underlying all that exist. But that is just speculation & not fact until proven to be so.
Since science can prove that we evolved from lower life what is left?
I do but it’s primarily because of my religious beliefs.
we call these fields cosmology and quantum mechanics. theyre very speculative because most theorys are hard to test in these fields
Actually they appear not to have any kind of mental activity because if they do they should conclude the inevitable, that GOD created the universe.
Who created everything?
If you evolved(you say so) from a lower life then who created that lower life?
What makes you assume there are areas where science doesn’t have answers? There are areas where it doesn’t have answers YET, but everything is potentially susceptible to scientific investigation.
The mistaken claim of many religionists is that there are areas where science just cannot go at all, probably so they don’t have to think about the possibility that they could be sincerely wrong. Metaphysical speculation is fun and it might lead to new areas of scientific inquiry, but otherwise it’s pointless. In quantum physics, especially, at least a bit of imagination is necessary to come up with possible theories that might explain what is observed.
of course
my brain is just as capable as anyone elses of philosphising
but i balance my philosphy with facts
i dont think any mental excersise is a waste of time, it all trains the brain, it jsut depends what you want your brain to do with its talents