tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post6586369997111811328..comments2023-11-22T01:14:54.298-08:00Comments on amor mundi: Faulty Ivory TowersDale Carricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-67888319337892314322013-01-08T19:51:55.717-08:002013-01-08T19:51:55.717-08:00The aphorism is calling attention to the contradic...The aphorism is calling attention to the contradiction you describe. The whole point of the aphorism is to emphasize that the universe has no preferences as to which words we use to describe it or which values we invest it with. This is not the same thing as denying there are descriptions that put us in a better position to predict and control the environment or denying there are values worth fighting for. I believe there are more and less reasonable scientific, legal, moral, esthetic, ethical, political beliefs and I believe that there are criteria on the basis of which their reasonableness can be adjudicated and I believe it is better to be reasonable than not. So, I am an atheist, I don't accept the backdoor onto-theism of correspondence accounts of truth or objectivist accounts of value, I still passionately argue for better beliefs in matters of facts, concerns, and norms, I do so in the name of a reasonableness I prefer to unreasonableness, and hence I don't think I am any kind of nihilist at all. I also happen to think the universe is pretty marvelous and our collective opportunities for solving our shared problems are always absolutely available before us even though I think the universe is indifferent about whether or not humans enjoy the blessings available to them or not, or behave reasonably or not. I don't need the universe to care about us for me to care about us. For me, that has always been a part of what my atheism has always meant to me. Dale Carricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-52709660787008966762013-01-08T19:37:51.115-08:002013-01-08T19:37:51.115-08:00>"Among many who profess to be atheists on...>"Among many who profess to be atheists one will still find the curious belief that the Universe has preferences in the matter of which words humans use to describe it with and what values humans use to live it with."<br /><br />@ Dale Carrico, uh dude, don't you see the inherent contradiction there? Aren't you using words to describe the universe or reality you live in, and aren't you abiding by values you feel are important? If not, then what is the point of this blog?, as you have hit upon THE intractable truth, that the universe doesn't give a damn. It's even worse than that, as the universe is not even a living entity that can feel anything. As an atheist and nihilist, nay, as a human being, it is quite clear to me and everyone on the planet, (whether they concede it or not) that the universe IS a nihilistic construct. The entire thing is a destructive process throughout. There really is no creation, simply a destruction. In order to build a home you must chop down the trees. You must disturb an environment and space. It's really a zero sum game. Nothing is created or destroyed, it's merely a repetition of disturbances, fluctuations, destruction after destruction. However, we are apes, "human beings", biological organisms, a collection of atoms, whatever, that create value based on the need to survive and propagate. This is curious, seeing as how nothing can really truly survive or propagate. In the end it will be a heat death and all our struggles, hopes, dreams, and lusts will have been for naught.<br /><br />You may counter and say this is the long view of things. But this is not the case. This IS the way things are now. We simply deny it, believing ourselves to be important. We are not important. Nothing is important.Black guy from the future pasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14136170325730022110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-4719168199762257102012-03-04T10:50:45.782-08:002012-03-04T10:50:45.782-08:00> Bad Hominem: The fallacy of decrying truth-te...> Bad Hominem: The fallacy of decrying truth-telling as name-calling<br />> when things are so bad that truth-telling has become indistinguishable<br />> from name-calling.<br /><br />Speaking of which, have you heard about this character<br />(I came across the EFF article on your blog roll):<br /><br />http://www.salon.com/2012/02/17/billionaire_romney_donor_uses_threats_to_silence_critics/singleton/<br />----------------------<br />Billionaire Romney donor uses threats to silence critics<br />by Glenn Greenwald<br />Friday, Feb 17, 2012 3:02PM EST<br /><br />. . .<br /><br />Frank VanderSloot is an Idaho billionaire and the CEO<br />of Melaleuca, Inc., a controversial billion-dollar-a-year<br />company which peddles dietary supplements and cleaning products;<br />back in 2004, Forbes, echoing complaints to government agencies,<br />described the company as “a pyramid selling organization,<br />built along the lines of Herbalife and Amway.” VanderSloot<br />has long used his wealth to advance numerous right-wing political<br />causes. Currently, he is the national finance co-chair of the<br />Mitt Romney presidential campaign, and his company has become<br />one of the largest donors ($1 million) to the ostensibly<br />“independent” pro-Romney SuperPAC, Restore Our Future.<br />Melaleuca’s get-rich pitches have in the past caused Michigan<br />regulators to take action, resulting in the company’s entering<br />into a voluntary agreement to “not engage in the marketing<br />and promotion of an illegal pyramid”‘; it entered into a<br />separate voluntary agreement with the Idaho attorney general’s<br />office, which found that “certain independent marketing executives<br />of Melaleuca” had violated Idaho law; and the Food and Drug<br />Administration previously accused Melaleuca of deceiving consumers<br />about some of its supplements.<br /><br />But it is VanderSloot’s chronic bullying threats to bring patently<br />frivolous lawsuits against his political critics — magazines,<br />journalists, and bloggers — that makes him particularly pernicious<br />and worthy of more attention. In the last month alone, VanderSloot,<br />using threats of expensive defamation actions, has successfully<br />forced Forbes, Mother Jones and at least one local gay blogger<br />in Idaho to remove articles that critically focused on his political<br />and business practices (Mother Jones subsequently re-posted the<br />article with revisions a week after first removing it). He has<br />been using this abusive tactic in Idaho for years: suppressing<br />legitimate political speech by threatening or even commencing lawsuits<br />against even the most obscure critics (he has even sued local<br />bloggers for “copyright infringement” after they published a<br />threatening letter sent by his lawyers). This tactic almost always<br />succeeds in silencing its targets, because even journalists and<br />their employers who have done nothing wrong are afraid of the<br />potentially ruinous costs they will incur when sued by a litigious<br />billionaire.<br />----------------------<br /><br />https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/03/billionaires-bogus-legal-threats-against-bloggers-threaten-free-speech<br />----------------------<br />Billionaire’s Bogus Legal Tactics Against Bloggers Threaten Free Speech<br />By Trevor Timm<br />March 2, 2012<br /><br />. . .<br /><br />Back in 2007, Melaleuca pressured the politics blog 43rdStateBlues<br />to take down a critical post written by a pseudonymous blogger<br />“TomPaine.” Another blogger on 43rdStateBlues, “d2”, posted the<br />lawyer’s letter explaining to readers why the original was taken down.<br />Incredibly, Melaleuca’s lawyers then obtained a retroactive copyright<br />certificate on the threat letter and demanded the hosting provider<br />take down the post as well. Even after they complied with the letter,<br />Melaleuca sued TomPaine for copyright infringement then subpoenaed<br />TomPaine’s and d2’s identities.<br />----------------------jimfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04975754342950063440noreply@blogger.com