Toughest Philosophical Questions

@cicerone imposter,

when i said, "athiests don't believe in hell" i was being pretentiously charming.
learning involves discussion.. you seem very absolute in your responses. if you want to learn then converse with people.. all of your answers to the questions i posed had absolutely no thought behind them AND you don't even want to discuss them... i never expected perfection. i expected patience and thought and stimulation from a philosophy forum.. my own fault i suppose.

1 Reply

@thedoctor,

I've been "discussing" on able2know since it was created, so you needn't give me any lesson on listening or engaging in debate. I've been doing it since the Abuzz days, and I know many of the posters personally. I call most of them friends, and have met many of them personally.

You're a greenhorn who happens to jump to conclusions too quickly.

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@cicerone imposter,

then why is it you can't seem to "discuss" anything with me?.. and if you go back through our "discussion" i believe you are the one jumping to conclusions in every post as i tried to "discuss" things.. i feel i intimidated you or maybe you feel i'm trying to take over your status in able2know which would really be sad. at any rate, your ablsolute and limited thought process leads me to believe that you are just here to sound "smart" or win some kind of debate. so here it is. you win. if you want to discuss anything i have put up on here feel free to do so but otherwise please stop adding ridiculous and redundant comments to my posts. congratulations on your victory. take care.

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@thedoctor,

You're basing your opinion about me on minutia. I like to challenge as well as be challenged. If you know anything about me, it's that I will admit when I'm wrong on anything. I participate on able2know to learn and have fun; the two main reasons I'm an active participant. If you attack me, I will attack back.

I have never declared myself to be "smart" or even suggested such. That's your conclusion. That's because you don't know me, but are ready to make quick conclusions based on your own perception about me based on this one thread. Not my problem.

BTW, I didn't win anything.

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

You're basing your opinion about me on minutia. I like to challenge as well as be challenged. If you know anything about me, it's that I will admit when I'm wrong on anything. I participate on able2know to learn and have fun; the two main reasons I'm an active participant. If you attack me, I will attack back.

I have never declared myself to be "smart" or even suggested such. That's your conclusion. That's because you don't know me, but are ready to make quick conclusions based on your own perception about me based on this one thread. Not my problem.

BTW, I didn't win anything.

After having read several of your posts I find you to be a caring human, 'Be'-ing, who is interested in making a contribution. However, I disagree with your taking the time to explain your 'self' to 'thedoctor'.

Explaining your 'self' is a waste of time and an entanglement. Your father expected you to explain your 'self' and started you on the path of explanation. If you had several lifetimes you still couldn't explain 'You'.

cicerone imposter wrote:

BTW, I didn't win anything.

From what I have read from "thedoctor" he thinks that philosophizing is something to be won or lost so all of his discussion points are a series "traps" he is unwilling to give up and are designed to entangle someone else into a discussion that he can win. He doesn't see and will argue against the fact that the only one he has trapped is himself.

Can you or I convince him to change his ways? He is the only one with the power to do that.

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@Dasein,

Dasein, It's good to know that some people "out there" understand where I'm coming from. I can only express who I think I am by what my personal perceptions are to family, friends, and strangers, and nothing more. It's probably a futile task as you claim it to be.

I can't be too bad a guy, because I literally have friends all around the world. I'm not so sure many can claim such. They include doctors, lawyers, professors, scientists, and many men and women of various professions and skills. I still travel four or five times every year around the world.

To me, participating on able2know is to learn and get entertainment; my wife keeps reminding me that I must continue to use my grey matter to stay alert and healthy. I try.

Finally, I participate in many threads on able2know, and have even initiated some of them. I have organized able2know meets in San Francisco and Austin, and have participated in Meets in Chicago, London, and Lippstadt, Germany.

During our last San Francisco Meet, Walter and Ulla visited us from Lippstadt, so we were able to meet up with Cyclo and georgeob to enjoy meals and drinks. Maybe, you can join us at the next one.

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@Dasein,

"people who are smart, who understand everything never get anything."
- Winnie the Pooh

Again with absolutions.. if you read my posts then you are aware that I believe philosophy to be a search for what makes us think the way we do about the things we do.. all the questions (traps) I posed (set) were renditions of questions from philosophy books meant to stir up discussion.. but there was no discussion, just "answers" and explanations about how many friends someone has. If you give an answer, the conversation stops, the philosophising is done and we are no better off... example, "can god make a $10 bill that is not counterfeit?"... "no, god doesn't exist". First off, you don't know that.. existing and having one believe in you are 2 different things.. it's obvious to me that "cicerone imposter" exist, but i don't believe in him. second, if you think this is a philisophical argument or discussion then i may need you to state the source of your definition. it's meant to make people learn about other people in their responses.. i learned that some people get intimidated when they aren't the ones asking the questions. the "winning" remark was a joke BTW.
i came here to discuss things.. and learn about how people thought. i failed. as did they.

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@thedoctor,

You still don't get it; the question of god's existence is a philosophical one. Simply, humans are not able to prove he exists. God is based on faith and faith only. That becomes philosophical in every way we humans perceive our reality.

It doesn't end any discussion; you only gave up!

I don't know the answer to all quiz questions. You seem to believe those who don't follow your expectations are too dumb to have a discussion.

That's your choice. Quit being an ass.

Your pseudonym tells me all I need to know about you! thedoctor? LOL

1 Reply

@thedoctor,

thedoctor wrote:

I believe philosophy to be a search for what makes us think the way we do about the things we do..

What you 'believe' philosophy to be is the problem and there is no "what" that makes us think the way we do.

There is only 'you' uncovering 'you' (philosophizing) or 'you' covering up 'you' by attempting to insert your 'self' into accepted philosophical concepts and justifying them through what you call 'discussion' (argument).

thedoctor wrote:

i came here to discuss things.. and learn about how people thought. i failed. as did they.

Anybody who requests 'sources of definitions' didn't come here to learn or discuss. That person already has a defined 'territory' they are defending and using their 'authorities' to be right.

Before you can have a 'discussion', you will need to get rid of everything you think you know. I have found that only 1 person in several million can do that.

The interesting thing is that you will see this post as an attack and not as an opportunity.

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@thedoctor,

thedoctor wrote:

"people who are smart, who understand everything never get anything."
- Winnie the Pooh

Again with absolutions.. if you read my posts then you are aware that I believe philosophy to be a search for what makes us think the way we do about the things we do.. all the questions (traps) I posed (set) were renditions of questions from philosophy books meant to stir up discussion.. but there was no discussion, just "answers" and explanations about how many friends someone has. If you give an answer, the conversation stops, the philosophising is done and we are no better off... example, "can god make a $10 bill that is not counterfeit?"... "no, god doesn't exist". First off, you don't know that.. existing and having one believe in you are 2 different things.. it's obvious to me that "cicerone imposter" exist, but i don't believe in him. second, if you think this is a philisophical argument or discussion then i may need you to state the source of your definition. it's meant to make people learn about other people in their responses.. i learned that some people get intimidated when they aren't the ones asking the questions. the "winning" remark was a joke BTW.
i came here to discuss things.. and learn about how people thought. i failed. as did they.

A couple of things:

1) Asking any question that pressuposes God's existence begs the question. We first need to ask, "Does God exist?"

2) If you know that "cicerone imposter" does indeed exist, then that entails you believe that he exists. Unless of course you are using 'believe' to mean something else, e.g., "I believe he will come through". But then again, why you put Cicerone Imposter's name in quotes may mean that you do not really believe that he does exist, which is interesting.

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@Dasein,

you are being pretentiously wordy.. i get what you are saying here but there isn't any substance outside of unusually ambiguous insult.. I did enjoy the bit at the end when you told me how I would take this though.. kinda goes aginst everything else you said. For the record, there are lots of things that might make me think the way i do about other things. again.. both of you have missed the point completely. And to be honest if you got rid of what you thought, the discussion would lack something.. perhaps intelligence? I think what you mean, Yoda, is that instead of "unlearning what you have learned" you need to open your head to every possibility. the winnie the pooh quote I included means that what 'smart' people tend to do is, instead of taking new information and incorporating it to what they already know to gain new knowledge or ideas, is to apply what they know to the new information and then decide whether they will accept that information. this is the situation you describe. open your mind, think about what you know and accept what others know.
I need to state again that I came to a philosophy forum expecting patience, discussion and an exchange of ideas.. what I ended up with is.. well, a disappointment.

what you calim is; my idea of philosophy is wrong, there is nothing that makes you think the way you do, the covering and uncovering thing which you are doing through your whole post quite hioppocritically, requesting definitions is bad even when the other person isn't making themself clear and that I can't know anything I know to have what you consider a discussion.

I really think you need to figure out what philosophy is and then come back to chat... did you catch that opportunity?

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@cicerone imposter,

I know the question of gods existence is a philosophical one... is that a debate point? because I asked it as this is a philosophy forum no? you made my point in your first paragraph. I agree with you. everything I have written in these posts have come from philosophy textbooks and extensive discussion.. I'm not trying to stump anyone, I'm simply putting questions out there for people to think about. Your retorts lead me to believe you either didn't read my whole post or you didn't understand my whole post. you are disagreeing but will back up my point with an example. I did notice you were here for entertainment. Well I'm here to chat and think and learn. You are ruining that for me.
One more point.. someone who has to constantly talk about how many friends they have don't have as many as they think. I'm open to talk philosophy but you just want to treat it like a schoolyard. Take care.

1 Reply

@Ding an Sich,

Now this is a response!!
1. ok.. let's just say, "yes". god exists.. he is not an employee of the US mint. so can he truly make a $10 bill that isn't counterfeit? just a fun omnipotence question.. this question led to a 3 hour converstaion about the social benefits of car crashes. not sure how we got there.
2. yeah.. i don't believe in him. quotes or no.. I have not seen any evidence of anything I would put my name to. nothing to have faith in and nothing to believe in. BUT having said that even if it is some 13 year old girl posing as an older gentleman of high social stature, i am still having an on-going debate with Cicerone Imposter so I must conclude that there is something or someone at the other end that exists. right?

1 Reply

@thedoctor,

Nobody here can ruin anything for you; you do so to yourself.

I can discuss almost any topic presented on able2know. Whether my response meets your "approval" is another matter, and I really don't care.

It's up to the readers to determine the veracity of any post; value is in the eye of the beholder. We are all subjective beings with different ideas about almost everything we perceive as our reality.

I welcome challenges to any of my posts; in this way, I believe contributes to my learning.

I'll leave the ball in your court; wherever that might be.

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

Way to dance around my points again. I can only assume you really don't know what to talk about here. Oh and I just read your simplton comment when it comes to philosophy so consider yourself forgiven. Remember just because you are taking part in a discussion doesn't mean you are contributing to it.

1 Reply

@thedoctor,

I have admitted as much; that I'm a simpleton when it comes to philosophy.

Your conclusions are based on a very small example of your readings, so "I'll forgive you for your ignorance."

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@cicerone imposter,

You don't know what I've read or what I know. Nor have you bothered to find out. Again, please keep your ridiculous and redundant comments to yourself.

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@thedoctor,

Why should I? This is a public forum where I can say anything I please - with our without your approval. Just put me on Ignore; you'll save yourself a lot of pain and unpleasantness.

Attack what I say; otherwise, all you're doing are ad hominems.

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

Why should you?!?... Well.. if you are going to attack somebody you should at least be able to back up what you are saying which you can't do.. not knowing what you are talking about is no different from a parrot asking for a cracker.. that is not truly "speech". regarding this "attack" you seem to want, unfortunately I am unable to stoop to a level of yours for the sake of an argument.. AGAIN, i am here to learn and discuss. you have turned this into schoolyard bull **** and i firmly believe that you do not have the intelligence to remain here. But as you have stated, what I believe is irrelevant to what you believe because it's all relative blah blah.. lots of pretentious UNphilosophical bullshit! I hope your entertainment is worth ruining a guys posted question/discussion here.. because where i may have strayed, you were never on the path to begin with.

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@thedoctor,

If you bother to go back to where this started, you'll find that you were the first to attack me, and not what I posted. That's what is called an ad hominem.

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