USUPhilosophy

It starts out this way:

Imagine looking down at an earth without you in it. Now ask yourself how much control you have over that world. How much do you consciously affect what goes on in it? I think we can all agree the answer is zero.

Next, consider what happens after your parents have brought about the preconditions for your life. As you sit in the womb, sloshing to and fro as a collection of molecules and cells that you had no input into the organization of, what degree of control or choice do you have regarding your actions? What choices are you able to make that are not fully dependent on inputs from your genetic makeup and your environment? I think most will agree that the answer is still “none”.

Read the rest here.

Sorry. But until someone accurately describes what an “undesigned” universe would be, I’m not all that impressed by the claim that this one is obviously designed. Moreover, whence this confidence that the universe is comprehensible? Physicists get one or two or ten things figured out, and it goes right to their heads.

The article is here.

can be found here. For those who don’t know, the Carnival is a periodic collection of interesting philosophical thoughts gathered from a wide array of blogs out there. There’s almost always something of interest, so it’s worth checking out.

(Thanks to Mike Linford for the link.)
Scientists Successfully Teach Gorilla It Will Die Someday

This post features a compelling account of someone working his way out of the belief that life is fair. It also reminds me of a great Simpsons line:

Apu: “I think that karma is a lot of baloney.”

Homer: “Mmmm. Caramel baloney….”