From: Attila 

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:58:20 +0930, Michael Gray
 in alt.abortion with message-id
 wrote:

>On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 23:42:42 -0400, Attila 
>wrote:
>  - Refer: 
>>On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 10:46:16 +0930, Michael Gray
>> in alt.abortion with message-id
>> wrote:
>>
>>>On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 15:20:06 -0400, Attila 
>>>wrote:
>>>  - Refer: 
>>>>On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 23:55:40 +1030, Michael Gray
>>>> in alt.abortion with message-id
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 07:12:52 -0400, Attila

>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>  - Refer: 
>>>>>>On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 23:33:43 +1030, Michael Gray
>>>>>> in alt.abortion with message-id
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 06:35:24 -0400, Attila

>>>>>>>wrote:
>>>>>>>  - Refer:

>>>>>>>>On Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:49:06 -0400, stumper
 in
>>>>>>>>alt.abortion with message-id
>>>>>>>>
wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>That's just a tiny part.
>>>>>>>>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_%28sociology%29
>>>>>>>>>But that will do.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>God exists in sociology
>>>>>>>>>because people go to church to worship God.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>It would therefore follow that every god
worshiped by even one person
>>>>>>>>must exist.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Does worship alone create a god?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Terry Pratchett says "yes"!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Terry Pratchett says a lot of things in several
thousand pages, none
>>>>>>of which he expects to be taken as anything more
than entertainment.
>>>>>
>>>>>I agree.
>>>>>
>>>>>>Or do you contend the Witch World concept has reality?
>>>>>
>>>>>The 'concept' is very real.
>>>>
>>>>No concept is real.
>>>
>>>Bullshit.
>>>A concept exists in the pattern of electrochemical wetware in a brain
>>>or brains.
>>>It is very real.
>>
>>There is nothing tangible about a concept.  It cannot be weighed,
>>measured, or detected in any way other than general brainwave
>>activity.
>
>That is only because of the current crudeness of our instruments.
>One day it will be able to be quantified.

It will still only measure brain activity.  Not what the brain is doing.

>
>Just because you are ignorant of how to measure something, does not
>mean that it does not exist.

Of course, but at the same time there is no reason to assume something
exists just because it has not been so measured.

>Paradoxically, you must firmly and absolutely believe that "belief"
>does not exist!!

Belief, since it is a concept, has no physical existence.

>That single example (but one out of millions) demonstrates the utter
>absurdity of your position.

Not really.  If a person has a belief and dies exactly what happens to that belief?


>
>We are able to tell that something exists by its EFFECTS.

True.  Usually.

>How do we know that the sun is a giant nuclear reactor?
>We can't measure it's radiation directly.
>We tell by it's predicted effects.
>It is the same thing for the electrical activity involved in the
>generation of a 'concept'.
>Our instruments are too crude to measure it directly, but we can
>deduce it's existence via its effects.
>One day we WILL be able to measure it directly.

And still we will be measuring brain activity.  I doubt any measurement
will ever be able to determine exactly what the thought involved actually
is.  That would be mind reading.

>
>I'd be willing to bet my entire fortune on that.
>How about you?

I would not live long enough to either pay or collect.

>
>>There is no way to isolate a concept from any other mental activity.
>
>There is.
>Unless you are unable to isolate your concepts from your wishing to
>have a shit, you know that there is.

That has nothing to do with identifying the content of a thought.

>
>>>
>>>(Unless one happens to suffer from that debilitating mental disorder
>>>called philosophy)
>>>
>>>>>>>>>It's that simple.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Simple minded, like all cultists.

--
Pro-Choice is Pro-Freedom

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