Catching up

Well it's been a few months since I last posted. A lot has happened since then, I've learned so much, changed my ideas on some things, and hopefully became a better person, one step closer to finding out Truth.

I've read some great books.

• David Hume's Enquiry. David Hume was a well known philosopher mainly active in the 18th century. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and would grow up to have a massive impact on modern philosophy. This book was about the very origins of human understanding, how and why we understand certain things. It also talks about having a healthy skepticism towards different things. It's a great read, and I may do a philosophy series on it in the future.

• John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism and On Liberty. These are truly a fantastic reads. John Stuart Mill was a 19th English philosopher and economist who wrote a variety of works on Utilitarian moral theory, freedom, economic theory, and women's rights. The first book I read from him, Utilitarianism, was about what makes an action right or wrong, and why we view certain actions as right or wrong. The second, On Liberty, was a great book about protecting the liberty of every individual in a society. I may also talk more about these in the future.

• David Baldacci's, The Last Mile. Ah ha! You thought I was just reading philosophy books didn't you! Well, I decided to branch out and was richly rewarded with this masterpiece. This book was about a ex-nfl prison convict who was framed for the murder of his parents. A smart detective works to help show that he was framed, but its a race against the clock. Many powerful figures are working against these two. The suspense is incredible - I dont know how this author does it. Such a great book. I became an instant fan of Baldacci and have since read the Camel Club, Deliver us from Evil, and Total Control, which are some of his other bestsellers.

I stopped being a Deist.
Surprising I know, but I no longer am a Deist. I was thinking deeply one day, and thought about all the arguments that I had used to prove my God existed.

• The Cosmological Argument.
  This argument basically asserts that since all things that began to exist had a beginning, and the universe began to exist, than the universe must have a beginning. Its valid and sound reasoning, but it's conclusion made me troubled. Why couldn't this beginning be an impersonal beginning, like Big Bang Cosmology or something else? Why did this beginning have to be the personal, powerful Deity I had envisioned? And why didn't God have a beginning? Finding no answers to these questions, I gave up this argument, accepting that at best this only proved the universe had a beginning, it says nothing of the cause.

• The Unmoved Mover Argument.
  P1  Anything in motion does not have any causal power to change or obtain a new state without another antecedent mover
  P2 This chain of things in motion cannot go on forever
  C In conclusion — there is a first mover that is not in the chain of motion (i.e. unmoved).
  This is a good argument, but it leaves me with the same questions. Why couldn't this first mover be impersonal? Why couldn't this first mover be an unmoved natural force? Also, does the first mover ever move? Because by the first premise... Anything in motion does not have any causal power to change or obtain a new state without another antecedent mover. So if the first mover was ever to obtain a new state or change or even move in the slightest (motion is change through time), then he could not be the first mover - by the own argument an antecedent mover would have been required. Maybe Im wrong in that, but I could not find a reason to continue to support this argument. At best, it only proved that there need be some force that is unmoved that caused all motion.

• Teleological Argument.
  The argument from design. Basically the argument asserts that because of the design in nature, there must be a designer. I agree, but why couldn't this designer be an impersonal designer? It seems much more probable that living things were designed by the mechanism of evolution by natural selection rather than a creator.
  Plus - look at all the horrible designs in nature. Is this really intelligent???
  1 99.99% of the universe is completely uninhabitable - in fact the conditions would kill us instantly. The amounts of radiation, high temperatures, and a host of other factors make it nearly impossible for us to exist anywhere else.
  2 It's all going to end in one giant, pointless, chaotic oblivion.
  3 Genetic diseases are often caused by genetic copying errors. Autoimmune diseases eat us from the inside out. Who would design a system that can and does kill itself?
  4 What kind of designer would have waste management and reproduction come from the same area? Seems like a counter intuitive, dangerous, and easy medium to spread disease.
  5 We eat, drink, and breathe out of the same hole, guaranteeing that some percentage of us will choke to death....etc, etc.

So much for intelligent design...

Anyways, now I've stopped being a Deist and I no longer actively believe in any Gods or gods. I am an agnostic.

I've changed my position on gay marriage
I used to be sort of neutral on this political issue, but now I have changed. For a long time, I did not care really if gay marriage was legalized or not, even though I had no real problems with it. I thought that the government should not have anything to do with marriage. But then I began thinking, if the government doesn't regulate this, who will? The church? No, no, that would be too corrupting. A religious institution should not be able to decide the private details of people's lives, or be allowed so much control over the populous. What about a private institution? Well, private institutions can refuse to serve people based on color, race, sexuality, or really anything. This is part of their corporate freedom I suppose, but because of this I couldn't see privatizing marriage as a good thing. People of any race, creed, or sexuality in an adult, consenting relationship should be able to get married if they so choose. I dont like the government, but for once due to lack of options I figured we could let them regulate this issue. So, since in America people's votes and voices seem to make a difference (when in a large enough number), I decided to add my voice to the chorus supporting the legalization of gay marriage.

Well, I think Im all caught up. Other than this, Im still the same old me. It's so good to be back!