Most of these boil down to either:
-Argument from ignorance -- we can't explain something, therefore another explanation is given and assumed true.
-Argument from incredulity -- something is so sensational or unbelievably rare that a reason, a method, a design, a purpose for its existence/occurance is given and assumed true.
 Reference > Arguments for the Existence of God and their RefutationDescription :: Louis Cable takes on a fairly long list of common and no-longer-common arguments for God
Owned by Unordained - Created on 03/03/2004 - Never edited 11/01/05 :: Folder :: Philosophy & Argumentation11/01/05 :: Folder :: Religion11/26/03 :: Folder :: Truth  02/12/04 :: Quote :: CS Lewis: "The Weight of Glory""To be ignorant and simple now--not to be able to meet the enemies on their own ground--would be to throw down our weapons and betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered."  11/05/03 :: Quote :: Arne TiseliusThe distinction between true and false appears to become increasingly blurred by... the pollution of the language. 08/01/05 :: Quote :: Thomas JeffersonShake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.
03/12/04 :: Quote :: Victor HugoAn invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.
(Translated from "On résiste à l'invasion des armées; on ne résiste pas à l'invasion des idées.") 01/20/04 :: Reference :: (link) :: Text of the Dead Sea Scrolls03/02/04 :: Image :: First Law of Thermodynamics :: 11/09/03 :: Article :: Horseshoes and Handgrenades :: "Close enough" to what? 10/18/05 :: Article :: Stub - Evolution &c :: 09/04/03 :: Quote :: Edna St. Vincent MillayUpon this gifted age, in its dark hour,
Rains from the sky a meteoric shower
Of facts . . . they lie unquestioned, uncombined.
Wisdom enough to leech us of our ill
Is daily spun; but there exists no loom
To weave it into fabric.  04/07/04 :: Article :: Moral Authority? :: 02/26/05 :: Article :: On teaching evolution in public schools :: 11/03/03 :: Article :: Through the looking-glass :: Now, Kitty, let's consider who it was that dreamed it all. This is a serious question, my dear ...09/28/03 :: Article :: The Great Black Box :: An idea for you to ignore and forget08/11/05 :: Reference :: (link) :: Fact Check06/28/05 :: Article :: Skepticism :: 02/06/04 :: Article :: Postmodernism (again) :: Taking another (simpler?) stab at explaining it 12/29/07 :: Quote :: British Ministry of InformationWhat is truth? We must adopt a pragmatic definition: it is what is believed
to be the truth. A lie that is put across therefore becomes the truth and
may, therefore, be justified. The difficulty is to keep up lying... it is
simpler to tell the truth and if a sufficient emergency arises, to tell one,
big thumping lie that will then be believed. 11/01/04 :: Quote :: ensisHere's a random wondering I had a moment ago. I think it proves true but it may need some work.
The difference between a fool and an atheist is that a fool scoffs at things he doesn't know he doesn't understand, and an atheist scoffs at things he knows he doesn't understand.
:) I'll work on it. 06/11/04 :: Article :: The sky is about to fall on our heads! :: ... or wondering why some people are obsessed with getting to the end of the world.05/20/07 :: Quote :: Friedrich NietzscheThe most perfidious way of harming a cause consists of defending it deliberately with faulty arguments.  03/15/09 :: Article :: God's Will :: My Take on how "God's Will" is used by christians01/20/04 :: Reference :: (link) :: Logic and Fallacies01/20/04 :: Reference :: (link) :: How can you consider yourselves Christians when you are also gay?01/09/04 :: Quote :: George D. PrenticeMany a writer seems to think he is never profound except when he can't understand his own meaning.  11/21/03 :: Reference :: (link) :: Focus on the Family's review of Bruce Almighty10/06/07 :: Reference :: (link) :: L0rdZ pR4y3r10/03/03 :: Quote :: Woody AllenTo you I'm an atheist; to God, I'm the loyal opposition. 09/28/03 :: Article :: Black Box Theology 1.2 :: Don't read it and it won't hurt you.09/08/07 :: Quote :: Bertrand RussellIf a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way. 09/04/03 :: Quote :: Terry PratchettGod does not play dice with the universe. He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [i.e. everybody], to being involved in an obscure and complex variant of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time. 09/04/03 :: Quote :: Omar Khayam, 13th century philosopherHe who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Shun him.
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child. Teach him.
He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep. Wake him.
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is a leader. Follow him. 09/04/03 :: Quote :: Aldous HuxleyMost human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted. 09/04/03 :: Quote :: Albert EinsteinReality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. 09/04/03 :: Quote :: Thomas ReidWe laugh at the Indian philosopher, who to account for the support
of the earth, contrived the hypothesis of a huge elephant, and to support
the elephant, a huge tortoise. If we will candidly confess the truth, we
know as little of the operation of the nerves, as he did of the manner in
which the earth is supported: and our hypothesis about animal spirits, or
about the tension and vibrations [...] 09/04/03 :: Quote :: Napoleon BonaparteHistory is a set of lies that people have agreed upon. 08/26/05 :: Reference :: (link) :: Inside Ronald Reagan07/28/03 :: Reference :: (link) :: Outrageous Christianity06/16/05 :: Article :: Christians & Hypocrisy - FAQ :: Abstraction of hypocrisy, application to Christianity, distinct lack of resolution, and some bits about something else06/12/07 :: Quote :: Bertrand RussellThe most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. 06/12/03 :: Reference :: (link) :: Focus on the Family05/28/06 :: Quote :: George Bernard ShawThe fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. 05/23/09 :: Article :: Three Million Dollars :: Entertainment to bait...I mean, convert... the masses.04/07/04 :: Quote :: Theodore RooseveltTo announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or anyone else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else. 03/15/08 :: Quote :: Bertrand RussellThe greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution. 02/11/04 :: Reference :: (link) :: Handy Latin Phrases01/30/05 :: Quote :: Chuang-tzuAll men know the utility of useful things; but they do not know the utility of futility. 01/21/04 :: Reference :: (link) :: Anti-Semitism: A Practical Manual01/18/04 :: Reference :: (link) :: Free Will vs. Predestination in Islam01/03/04 :: Article :: Blood type :: A well-meaning preacher sticks his foot in his mouth ... |
