tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post844406737645451779..comments2024-03-28T19:56:42.305-05:00Comments on Alexander Pruss's Blog: An argument for theism from certain valuesAlexander R Prusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-65429716997586007392018-08-09T05:40:02.687-05:002018-08-09T05:40:02.687-05:00Walter Van den Acker
Something either is or isn&...Walter Van den Acker<br /><br /><b> Something either is or isn't rational</b><br /><br />OK... how about this:<br /><br />You are stranded on a desert island. Would it be rational for you to write a rescue message; placing it in a bottle and tossing the bottle into the sea?Philip Randhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09143527524267821692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-6520513265845826362018-08-09T03:43:28.176-05:002018-08-09T03:43:28.176-05:00Alex
"But one can still ask why there are be...Alex<br /><br />"But one can still ask why there are beings with a nature with these prescriptions and not others. Why is it that, as far as we can tell, there are rational beings whose nature prescribes love for neighbor and none whose nature prescribes hatred for neighbor?"<br /><br />The answer is quite obvious. If what you are claiming is true then hatred for neighbour is not rational. Something either is or isn't rational, and God has nothing to do with that fact. LIkewise, if certain things are necessarily valuable, then the existence or non-existence of God has no bearing on this.<br />Of course one can still ask how it is possible that there are rational beings, but that's another matter.<br /><br />Art and humour are a different matter, because there do seem to be rational beings who do not appreciate art or humour, or at least there seems to be no inherent irrationality in not appreciating art or humour. Unlike love, e.g. they lack universal value. No doubt there is art that you like and I hate and vice versa. The same holds for humour. Appreciation of art and humour follows from the relativity of human rationality and from the interaction of various rational beings whose rationality is slightly different. Counteracting self-aggrandizement is in part explained by our nature as social beings. We are not "put in the right place" by god, but by our fellow human beings who remind us of the relativity of our rationality. Nevertheless, there are peolle who think they know everything, but often those people lack any sense of humour.Walter Van den Ackerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16101735542155226072noreply@blogger.com