"You may just have to humor him, or play the conspiracies off one another. If he is prone to conspiracy theories, then how about the conspiracy that exists simply to sell crap to people or distract them? You know, the one where they try to get you to…"
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Nathaniel Summers
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Nathaniel Summers liked Robert Karp's blog post 7 simple, common-sense evidences that blow the literal Bible out of the waterNathaniel Summers replied to Keith Patrick's discussion 'Proving that agnosticism and atheism are not necessarily mutually exclusive'"Keep in mind that there is a logical fallacy called the argument from definition. Just because someone defines a concept a certain way does not mean it is that certain way. Many theists try to use this type of argument when it comes to god(s). They…"
Nathaniel Summers replied to Ryan Peterson's discussion 'Does homosexuality make evolutionary sense?'"Yes it does. In fact, same sex sexual contact has been observed in nearly all, if not all, species that science has observed. There are many proposed mechanisms by which homosexual behavior may offer an evolutionary advantage to a population. This…"
Nathaniel Summers replied to Gustaf D's discussion 'What can science say about morality?'"Many ethical frameworks rely very heavily on the concept of harm. The biggest challenge for these frameworks is the definition of harm. I do believe that science can tell us a great deal about what is and is not a harm and through that could give us…"
Nathaniel Summers replied to Samantha L's discussion 'Converting....'"I want to believe true things.
I want others to believe true things, especially when their false beliefs can negatively impact society in general and/or me specifically."
Nathaniel Summers commented on Nathaniel Summers's blog post 'We're All One: No Woo Woo Required'"That's a good point, separateness is an illusion and therefore the interconnection would also be an illusion. We draw lines like that in our effort to make sense of things. We could not understand the world around us if it were not for the…"
Joe commented on Nathaniel Summers's blog post 'We're All One: No Woo Woo Required'"Yes, I remember our dialogue on this. It is interesting because I was just reading about Zeno's paradoxes that set out to prove that there is no plurality. It is something I still wonder about. Because of course, we humans perceive things to be…"
Nathaniel Summers replied to Karl Svitak's discussion 'Fence Sitters - Why do people believe in the Biblical "God" but don't truly believe in practicing their chosen religion?'"Many believe that the problems with religion are just that, problems with religion. Those same problems need not extend to problems with spiritual beliefs and practices. It's kind of hard to go on a crusade, for instance, if no one has a…"
Nathaniel Summers posted a blog postWe're All One: No Woo Woo Required
I recognize that I'm probably a bit odd for an Atheist, heck, I'm a bit odd for a human. One of my many odd stances is in my denial of the Other. Notice the big "O" there? I'm talking about the Other in philosophical terms; that which is separate from the Self. I do not think it exists and I don't make any appeals to some of the crazy stuff that the usual proponents of of such statements usually resort to. There's no need for a collective unconscious. No need for a psychic connection between…See More
Nathaniel Summers commented on Marc Poulin's blog post 'Babies with morals'"Blank Slate psychology is proving more and more to simply be false. The way I see it, we come prepackaged with certain intuitions, some of which are moral intuitions. All knowledge is built upon from intuitions because things can only be known by…"
Profile Information
- Your Religious Status
- Atheist, Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic
- About Me:
- These "about me" things are always difficult, especially as the nature of the Self is a rather difficult one to sort out. It's no surprise that people have a hard time trying to figure out who they are when the implications of what "I" actually means aren't really understood. The best we can do is rattle off a list of traits.
I try to live by a few key principles. Openness, honesty, thoughtfulness and humor are the big ones. I make sure that everyone has the same information on me so that no one can use any of it against me. It's just a lot easier (and liberating) to avoid keeping secrets than it is to tell lies. I also believe that if I can't laugh about something, I'm probably taking it too seriously. I would say that my biggest flaw is philosophical paralysis. I have a tendency to over-think and over-analyze such that I find it difficult to actually make decisions.
- Age
- 25-30
- Relationship Status
- Single
- The religion you left
- Christian
- Why you left your religion.
- I originally left Christianity because I felt out of place. I was exposed to the hypocrisy of church goers. After a bit of digging, I decided that organized religion had it all wrong. It was then that I went to the bible for answers (that's where I had been told they would all be) and found that the god I was raised to believe in could not possibly be the murderous psychopath represented in the bible. After all, god is love right? So I ditched Christianity if favor of an eclectic deistic paganism. I delved pretty deep into the occult for several years but found that it was mostly full of rebellious kids and loonies. After several years, I decided to sit down and write out what it was that I actually believed. When I saw my beliefs there on the paper in front of me, I found them to be terribly contradictory, based on broad assumptions and some of it I just could not justify (especially in the light of science). That was when I gave it all up for good. I ditched the whole mess and have been trying to actively build my web of belief in a way that helps eliminate bad and/or unfounded beliefs while also admitting to not knowing all the answers. That way, I can just do constant house-keeping, instead of having to demolish and rebuild my beliefs every time I am confronted with holding a major false belief.
My Websites
ChimericFire.com is my non-non-religious related blog. It's mostly full of my random artwork, rants, dreams and recently philosophical and psychological musings.
NathanielSummers.com is my portfolio. I've got a collection of my artwork up there as well as examples of my work with flash games/applications.
Nathaniel Summers's Photos
Nathaniel Summers's Videos
Nathaniel Summers's Blog
We're All One: No Woo Woo Required
Posted on October 10, 2011 at 5:03pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
I recognize that I'm probably a bit odd for an Atheist, heck, I'm a bit odd for a human. One of my many odd stances is in my denial of the Other. Notice the big "O" there? I'm talking about the Other in philosophical terms; that which is separate from the Self. I do not think it exists and I don't make any appeals to some of the crazy stuff that the usual proponents of of such statements usually resort to. There's no need for a collective unconscious. No need for a psychic connection between…
Continue Paradox of Prayer
Posted on October 2, 2011 at 1:38am 5 Comments 0 Likes
Prayer doesn't make sense. We Atheists know it doesn't work. But The thing is, it couldn't possibly work.
I'm going to be arguing as if the Christian god actually exists here. It's purely hypothetical, I'm not arguing for his existence, merely trying to refine how he could possibly exist. Before I begin, let me lay out a bit of the view of the traditional Christian god so you can see what exactly what I'm talking about. First, god is all knowing. Second, god has a plan. The second…
Continue Sunk Cost and the God Hypothesis
Posted on September 28, 2011 at 5:36pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
I recognized this concept long before I knew what it was called. A sunk cost is actually a kind of logical fallacy. Simply stated, the cost of a thing does not dictate the value of a thing.
Consider an example. I am a millionaire and have invested $20 million to build a power plant. At this juncture, it will cost another $10 million to complete. However, during the time we've spent building the current facility, new and more cost effective designs have been developed such that it…
Continue The Masochist's Wager
Posted on September 27, 2011 at 3:00am 1 Comment 0 Likes
This is my counter to Pascal's wager. Sure the Atheist's wager would suffice, but I find this to be a bit more fun. It helps point out the true absurdity of Pascal's wager.
- There are many different religions. Many of which are mutually exclusive. Many of which contain their own hell(s). It is also possible that all of these religions are false and we are all going to hell.
- Without being able to…
Comment Wall (1 comment)
- At 2:24pm on September 27, 2011,
Robert Karp said… Welcome to the Think Atheist community Nathaniel!
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