Posts by cofty

532

I conclude evolution is guided

by KateWild in

your qualifications are way above mine so i'd love to hear more about the specifics of what you have researched and how that supports the existence of a deity.

k99, i am not really convinced that you're interested in my conclusions.

in nature amino acids formed to then form dna.

cofty

Cofty’s challenge doesn’t answer K99 questions about the specifics of my research and how it supports the existence of a deity. - Kate

I have no idea what you mean. What research?

Even though Soai solved the puzzle of homochirality

Well done on FINALLY admitting Soai solved the puzzle. What else is there to say?

this http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ar5003208 is not related to this …

It is TOTALLY related. Soai has continued to research homochirality in the years since his breakthrough in 1995. This paper is a very recent example from 2014. He started with a racemic mixture with an 'ee' of 0.00005%. Following the reaction the 'ee' was over 99.5%.

How can this not be germane to a conversation about the naturalistic cause of homochirality?

The probability of these results without guidance is lower than the probability of these results with guidance - Kate

No it isn't.

I have explained over and over why autocatalysis leads to homochirality and normal catalytic reactions don't.

Serious question - would you like me to explain it one more time?

90

Evolution Hole #1 - Origin of Life

by shadow in

disclaimer: my graduate degree is in business, not science so i'm writing as a layman in this field.

yes, i know that someone is going to say that evolution does not encompass this topic and should be sectioned off under abiogenesis.

i'm not trying to argue semantics here but it seems like a case of avoiding an uncomfortable subject.

cofty

Humans can't create life can't even create a red blood cell

I can't write a symphony. I don't even begin to understand how it is possible to do something so complex. That doesn't mean it is magic. It just means I am ignorant.

251

God is Real in Principle

by looter in

jw
friends

now the majority of people nowadays do no go by the hope of old times.

now the reason for this is important and goes beyond mere words.

our culture sees ethics especially national or civil politics as the rules and standards by which we guide ourselves.

cofty

you feel you have found an ideal moral truth in your eyes. There is hardly a difference in that and absolute morality.

They could not be any different. They are exact opposites.

Theists assert that things are right or wrong based on the edicts of an imaginary lawgiver. This capricious appeal to absolute morality has proven to be unfit for purpose. It leads to ethical decisions that are demonstrably harmful but unavoidable.

Rational people ponder what the effects will be on the well-being of conscious creatures and try to make ethical decisions that minimises harm.

Neither of these two ethical systems are the same thing as relative morality. Personal preferences, whims and cultural norms are not a reliable basis for ethics.

Of course in reality christians don't actually get their ethics from some absolute external standard. They mostly reason on consequences just like non-believers but they then go back and superimpose god onto decisions they have already made. God is the ultimate sockpuppet.

251

God is Real in Principle

by looter in

jw
friends

now the majority of people nowadays do no go by the hope of old times.

now the reason for this is important and goes beyond mere words.

our culture sees ethics especially national or civil politics as the rules and standards by which we guide ourselves.

cofty

You most likely have serious mental health issues and should seek professional help.. - Outlaw

How arrogant.

At last somebody has the desire and insight to critique godless morality and you insult him as insane. Why don't you stick to colouring in goofy cartoons of the governing body and collecting "likes"? Adults are trying to have an interesting conversation.

251

God is Real in Principle

by looter in

jw
friends

now the majority of people nowadays do no go by the hope of old times.

now the reason for this is important and goes beyond mere words.

our culture sees ethics especially national or civil politics as the rules and standards by which we guide ourselves.

cofty

Not every Christian believes "essential good out there somewhere against which everything must be measured" - looter

How can there be christians who don't believe the god of Jesus is the epitome of goodness?

That is like saying not all triangles have three sides.

to say that all Christians possess objective morality such as those you mentioned isn't true.

I said the opposite of that.

Christians are committed to absolute morality NOT to objective morality.

Absolute morality is nothing more than an excuse to insist that certain things are absolutely right or wrong because "god says so".

But who says that "god says so"? In the OT god commanded that Joshua and his army commit infanticide. Therefore you are compelled to agree that under some circumstances murdering babies is morally good.

Rational people are committed to objective morality. That means that good and bad are assessed against the consequences for the well-being of conscious creatures. So there are real moral truths, however there is no absolute moral standard that we are trying to discover - that is a myth for the comfort of infants.

90

Evolution Hole #1 - Origin of Life

by shadow in

disclaimer: my graduate degree is in business, not science so i'm writing as a layman in this field.

yes, i know that someone is going to say that evolution does not encompass this topic and should be sectioned off under abiogenesis.

i'm not trying to argue semantics here but it seems like a case of avoiding an uncomfortable subject.

cofty

Shadow, great first post.

It's a dismal OP that offers not a single word of evidence. His argument is with the dictionary.

Still waiting on Evolution Hole #2

24

Do you think any animals will ever reach human intelligence?

by EndofMysteries in

if all life was truly random, then what happened that allowed humans to it's current intelligent state, do you think non humans could and will reach that in the future?

.

cofty

I'm wondering how many people get their natural history information from Disney.

24

Do you think any animals will ever reach human intelligence?

by EndofMysteries in

if all life was truly random, then what happened that allowed humans to it's current intelligent state, do you think non humans could and will reach that in the future?

.

cofty

No

251

God is Real in Principle

by looter in

jw
friends

now the majority of people nowadays do no go by the hope of old times.

now the reason for this is important and goes beyond mere words.

our culture sees ethics especially national or civil politics as the rules and standards by which we guide ourselves.

cofty

Your verbose treatise confuses absolute morality and objective morality.

The christian believes in a Platonic essential good out there somewhere against which everything must be measured. It is a childish desire that atheists have outgrown.

It also leads to worse sort of depravity. Christians appeal to the bible as a source of knowledge about absolute morality and are forced to become apologists for slavery, rape and infanticide. I have personally had many christians explain to me why slaughtering thousands of babies in cold blood was a moral good when god commanded it.

This sort of morality is nothing more than ethics by divine fiat and is directly responsible for the greatest crimes in human history.

On the other hand moral truths do exist. Right and wrong are not personal opinions like the best flavour of ice cream. The choice between absolute morality and relative morality is a false dichotomy.

Objective morality is about the well-being of conscious creatures. It is this post-enlightenment insight that has led to the greatest progress in human ethics in recent decades.

532

I conclude evolution is guided

by KateWild in

your qualifications are way above mine so i'd love to hear more about the specifics of what you have researched and how that supports the existence of a deity.

k99, i am not really convinced that you're interested in my conclusions.

in nature amino acids formed to then form dna.

cofty

Cofty I am posting my response to your challenge, Soai saying he solved the puzzle is not relevant to the challenge you assigned me.

My challenge was to explain something you had written in simpler language and show how it refuted the significance of Soai's experiment. If you now accept that Saoi solved the puzzle of homochirality then there is no need.

If you don't, then there is probably nothing more to be said.