A Challenge ... - Page 14

Jointsmith · #**131** 05-20-2008, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViRedd

1. And this is where the debate usually ends up. No one mentioned religion ... only faith. You have faith in Mankind descending from monkeys, right? At least you show no physical proof of what you espouse, and yet, those who present the mere possibility of Intelligent Design are labeled "NUTS." This is the very same thing that happens over and over in this forum. If a person is pro-liberty, then that person is labeled a "Bush supporter." ~lol~

2. One of the premier advocates of Evolution, an Atheist, in Stein's movie made the same assertion as you ... that life began as the result of a lightening strike. I'll ask you the same question Stein asked him ... How did the lightening strike originate?

Vi

No, I don't have 'faith' in the fact we descended from monkeys, but I look at the vast ammounts of FOSSIL EVIDENCE (they have found many examples of 'missing links') and come to MY OWN CONCLUSIONS.

I don't KNOW where the lightning came from, and unlike religion I don't pretend to KNOW.

My personal 'Crackpot' beliefs about lightning, energy, The Universe, God, EVERYTHING are every bit as FAR FETCHED as your religion, however I don't present these beliefs in a SCIENTIFIC DEBATE and try and pass them off as SCIENCE.

Jointsmith · #**132** 05-20-2008, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenMaster

My biology professor said that our DNA is 99.98% identical to a rat, so that doesn't prove anything.

Well is proves we are made of the same things as all life that has evolved on our planet.

As they learn more about what each part of DNA actually codes, they are working out what mutations have occured (i.e. small changes in DNA) to create the different features we see in different life forms.

It doesn't PROVE anything as such (but then what does in your mind?), but if you use LOGIC and PROBABILITY you can see what it suggests.....

ViRedd · #**133** 05-20-2008, 11:54 AM

I was wondering if, because all other living specie on earth functions from instinct, and Man has the ability to THINK and REASON, means anything to anyone posting in this thread. Or ... is the ability to think and reason just a happenstance of chance?

Vi

medicineman · #**134** 05-20-2008, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViRedd

I was wondering if, because all other living specie on earth functions from instinct, and Man has the ability to THINK and REASON, means anything to anyone posting in this thread. Or ... is the ability to think and reason just a happenstance of chance?

Vi

Depends on who you are talking about,~LOL~ Some may differ on the opinion of some others reasoning.

We TaRdED · #**135** 05-20-2008, 11:59 AM

Thats a good question ViRedd, too bad its a moot question(I mean that in the best way possible, I'm still getting a feel for this word 'moot', its new to my vernacular) .. I was wondering the same thing myself a couple months back.

email468 · #**136** 05-20-2008, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViRedd

I was wondering if, because all other living specie on earth functions from instinct, and Man has the ability to THINK and REASON, means anything to anyone posting in this thread. Or ... is the ability to think and reason just a happenstance of chance?

Vi

There are few presumptions here that I question.

First, I am certain that humans aren't the only creatures that can think and I am dubious that we are the only ones that reason. I grant you that humans seem to "think" this ability is the be all, end all but its survival worthiness remains to be seen.

And you seem to think Natural Selection is equal to chance when in fact it is just the opposite of chance. Chance would allow any mutation to develop whereas Natural Selection allows only mutations that have some survival benefit (though the purpose may elude our "reasoning" and appears to be chance).

ViRedd · #**137** 05-20-2008, 12:20 PM

Oh, Man is definitely a survivor. One of the best on the planet. But he was gifted with the ability to reason as well. Take my cat for example. Now, this is one of the "smartest" cats on the planet, and yet, she just looks at me as though I'm nothing more than the cook. What kind of reasoning is that?

Vi

medicineman · #**138** 05-20-2008, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViRedd

Oh, Man is definitely a survivor. One of the best on the planet. But he was gifted with the ability to reason as well. Take my cat for example. Now, this is one of the "smartest" cats on the planet, and yet, she just looks at me as though I'm nothing more than the cook. What kind of reasoning is that?

Vi

I should have known, you are a cat person. No wonder we don't get along.

We TaRdED · #**139** 05-20-2008, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViRedd

Oh, Man is definitely a survivor. One of the best on the planet. But he was gifted with the ability to reason as well. Take my cat for example. Now, this is one of the "smartest" cats on the planet, and yet, she just looks at me as though I'm nothing more than the cook. What kind of reasoning is that?

Vi

What kind of cat do you have?

And if I recall correctly on the earths time-line, compared to other creatures such as alligators we(homosapiens)are new comers to earth. The term "survivors" is a relative term and has to be compared to something else. Look at how long dinosaurs were around for- most of them are dead now.

Jointsmith · #**140** 05-20-2008, 12:33 PM

Thinking and perception are definitely a weird one.

8-Circuit Model of Consciousness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a great read on consciousness and touches on how animals think.

Also talks about how our consciousness might EVOLVE (WOOO!! we've come Full circle) and how using drugs can help you access parts of your consciousness.

Check it out.