The Atheist Experience

The Atheist Experience Aug 5, 2018 2:37:57 GMT

Quote

Post by Arlon10 on Aug 5, 2018 2:37:57 GMT

Aug 5, 2018 1:50:46 GMT @graham said:

<1,2,3,4,5,6,7>

1) It is possible, for instance, for one person to assert that X is true, and the other to take the position "You don't have a good reason to believe that X is true. It might be, but it might not."

Suppose I say I own a Honda Accord. If you ask "What is a Honda Accord"?, then you lack belief whether I own one. If you have the slightest doubt I own one, that is how much you believe I do not own one. If the thought crosses your mind that I do not have one, that is a belief (however fleeting) that I do not have one.

2) According to you, such people have to be quiet

I think all blithering idiots should be quiet. We both know that's not going to happen soon.

3) The only reason to believe this is that you are fundamentally ignorant of how people speak to one another.

You are fundamentally ignorant of how many people really are blithering idiots.

4) Let me put it in the simplest possible terms. I'll use short sentences and everything. As if you had the mind of a child :

You : "god exists."
Me : "You don't have good reason to believe that."
You : "That means you think god doesn't exist."
Me : "No. I just think your reasons are not good."

No, you believe my reasons are not good. There it is. See it yet? A mere child could. You have decided that your belief that my evidence is flawed is somehow privileged over my belief that it is not flawed. It is not. They are both beliefs one way or the other. Yours is no less a belief than mine.

5) Arlon, brace yourself : "Arsenic is not toxic" is a positive claim.
"Arsenic is toxic" is also a positive claim.

BOTH of those claims carry a burden of proof.

Unless one of them is the status quo, but you're getting warmer.

5) But if you said "arsenic is not toxic" and I said "I don't think you have good reason to believe that", then the burden of proof is yours. I have no burden of proof.

No, I do not have the burden of proof simply because you ask for it. Again you have decided that your "thoughts" (beliefs) are somehow privileged and can demand respect. They are not privileged and might well be disrespected.

6) When you tell another person that they didn't feel what they felt

I never said that. That is your misunderstanding.

7) you decide that you need to invent new definitions of words to try and make yourself right.

People who have no definitions or rules are really not in a position to complain. If you want to complain you need to bring something to the table. I don't mean a ditzy green dragon.