Jared Diamond is near the top of most difficult reads but I pushed through only to realize he's full of shit. Like Dawkins, Diamond helped me learn how to think for myself.
A beginner's guide to being an atheist, by Richard Dawkins
- Thread starter Cypress
- Start date
anonymoose
Classical Liberal
Ever since he’s been here his agenda is to “prove” he’s The Most Interesting and Smartest Man On The Internet.
He has evolved…
I broke the cypress code.
"I am always [perplexed/confused/intrigued] why [mainstream member of society] thinks differently than I do
My theory is [something smug, dismissive, lazy and lacking nuance]
Of course, as we all know
[list a reason why I am better]
[optional conclusion that cypress thinks is witty]!"
I'm telling you, it works on all his posts.
I literally mentioned core sciences like cellular biology and biochemistry multiple times, which include subdisciplines like genetics and molecular biology. I am not obligated to write an extensive laundry list of all the sub disciplines.
The real question here is why are you pretending I did not discuss them multiple times?
Anatomy is just classification. That's not hard science. Classifying things is not ontological, and gives no insight into the ultimate realities of matter and energy.
Studying how chickens or chimpanzees behave is not going to give any insight into the deeper questions of life, the universe, and everything.
anonymoose
Classical Liberal
Yet you don’t consider zoology to be a hard science which includes those disciplines.
You contradict yourself.
You obviously never took comparative vertebrate anatomy.
Only the lab part was identification of structures.
The lecture had everything to do with how those structures evolved.
And you think that’s all Dawkins wrote in his 17 major published books.
He’s just trying to be entertaining to laymen to sell more books. If you think that’s the extent of his depth then that confirms to me your superficiality.
Nope .A zoologist is not a geneticist. You don't get to call a degree in zoology a degree in genetics
Zoologists may make use genetic information.
But so do archeologists and anthropologists.
But none of them are trained to be geneticists themselves
Anatomy is classification. Classification is a human convention that doesn't tell you anything about the ontological nature of reality
So you're just going to ignore that I spoke to biochemistry and cellular biology multiple times, even though you claimed I didn't?
Are you the type of person who would rather take a beating than admit you were wrong?
Despite repeated requests for clarification, all you could manage to do was claim I missed some "nuance" in only one of the ten bullet points I wrote in the OP.
The points I attribute to Dawkin's book are standard, and almost universally accepted, beliefs in the atheist world view.
If you read those bullet points and found them to unappealing, then you need to reflect on why you are an atheist.
anonymoose
Classical Liberal
I didn't. But you know that.
Of course. And that was one of the courses I took (as a. core elective) to obtain my degree in Zoology which had nothing to do with animal behavior.
Wow. We actually agree on something
Duh. Who said they were?
Oh you did alright but you claim Dawkins has no background in that because he's ...
lol
Zoology is the study of animal behavior. Sure, and nothing else. How did I get a degree in that and never had one class in "animal behavior"?
IBDaMann
Well-known member
... or looked at another way, considering opposing views is a great way to develop critical reasoning skills and to see the value in doing the work of thinking for yourself.
IBDaMann
Well-known member
Explain how you somehow speak "almost universally" for atheists when you don't even know what an atheist is, ... despite being told the correct answer several times.
Wrong word. I found them to be mischaracterizing.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
things just have properties.
it's like deciding to be gay.
you didn't decide to be gay.
you just are.
IBDaMann
Well-known member
Yes. I'm sure he will be once he starts getting things right, and abandons the endless chain of errors, and begins actually learning, especially from those who know so much more than he does, ... yes, it will be glorious.
Does he now allot himself more than five minutes to scramble for information from the internet on a given topic?
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
cypress's takeaway from religion is the authoritarian aspect, and thats sad.
If matter and energy explain everything about life, the universe, and everything, then science is the only intellectual domain that provides any truth or knowledge.
I'm always surprised how keen some message board atheists are to slowly backup and tiptoe away from a matter-and-energy only materialist worldview.
So other than one "nuance" in just one bullet point in a list of ten bullet points, you have failed for at least the sixth time to justify your insinuation that my OP was chock full of misrepresentations and mischaracterizations.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
cypress still cares about his legacy, and whether or not people approve of him.
so lowly, I'm so much better.
so lowly, I'm so much better.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
as humans we're way beyond the rules of matter and energy.
you're just so boring and basic.
anonymoose
Classical Liberal
Are you kidding? Closer to five hours.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
thinking matter and energy are so important is thinking that architecture is about choosing paint.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
I knew Dawkins PhD was in animal behavior. Studying the pecking habits of baby chickens, specifically. That is why I linked him to animal behaviourism.
The fact that he makes use of genetic research doesn't make him really any different from archeologists, anthropologists, and crime scene detectives who also make use of genetic data.
If you want to elevate zoology to a top-tier core hard science, that's up to you.
The takeaway here is that,
You don't get a degree in zoology and then get to say you have a degree in genetics.
You don't get to acquire an RN degree and then call yourself an MD.
You don't get to use your undergraduate minor in history to call yourself a historian
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
you're just propping up an authority figure because you need an authoritarian regime to give you gold stars.
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