Strange Notions is a new Disqus site run by Brandon Vogt to try to discuss Rationality and Reason with Athiests. He may well succeed with some, but there is one subset of atheism he will never succeed with. On Richard Dawkin's spectrum of theistic probability , those with a score 6 and above often fall into something I term fundamentalist atheism. Many of them come from fundamentalist Christian backgrounds, if not in their generation, then within three generations of their recent past. Fundamentalist Atheism starts with the assumption that the supernatural doesn't exist and that the natural world is all there is, and runs with it, denying any data to the contrary. I've always been one to consider the natural to be a subset of the supernatural- that is the only real difference between the natural and the supernatural to me is the line of the shared scientific knowledge of mankind. A scientist, therefore, if he is to learn anything new about the universe, needs to have h...
Comments
In that particular case, I absolutely agree.
How about psychologically? Again, according to some definitions of what should and should not qualify for being allowed to live, I should have been killed. I can't handle many emotions at one time, I can't handle being around a lot of people, or loud noises very well. I can function only moderately normally in society, and that's a taxing endeavor for me. I can imitate the psychological state of a homicidal maniac, an idiot, a psychopath, a genius, and pretty much anyone who I spend more than two hours with and actually know anything about. I very rarely feel truly happy with anything, or feel loved. Ever. I react with fake emotion and body language, using a combination of variables that allows me to pick out the appropriate reaction, and allows me to recognize, to some extent, which emotions were being conveyed to me, and which emotions I should pretend to show.
2) Several of my cousins would be dead because of this, since they have deformities which prevent them from talking, moving freely, or otherwise severely impede them. According to most pro-choicers I've asked about it, one of my cousins is "A poor, sad thing, who should've been aborted." my cousin is able to type, to some extent, and understands language perfectly well. She's actually quite smart (probably quite a bit smarter than me in several areas, since she has more study time), and has some limited typing ability. She's in pain often, yes. She once had the same sunburn for a year because she has such bad circulation, but she's happy. She feels loved by the people in her family, she's treated equally to all of them, and she does her best to repay that love by learning and comforting others as best she can.
3) Expectations of babies are generally prone to being the most unreliable ones of all anyhow. A child can develop in unexpected manners, psychologically, and physically. Just because a baby seems perfect, doesn't mean it will be, and just because they seem to have no chance in life doesn't mean that's going to be the case.
What you are asking is very subjective and I should have been more careful on how I responded way back when I did. I'm just not the kind of person who places enough value on life and I have at times contemplated suicide. I guess I am part of the culture of death that JPII talked about. I'm sorry for the hardships that you have had to endure. You state your case eloquently. I would have never figured you to be going through what you have said. Hang in there.
For example, because I don't feel many emotions, when my friends or family are stressed out, they can come to me, because I can generally brighten up their mood and offer sound advice, because I don't feel the transmitted emotion. I know that there's emotion, but I don't feel it, so I can sympathize to a point, but it's not to such a point that I'm not able to help them because of it.
Likewise, people who have serious physical disabilities, often use them to help others, by encouraging people to continue working past obstacles, and by offering advice on how to get by.
While it's not a fun thing to have a disability, psychological or physical, the people who have them use them to give back to people who have helped them, and it helps them to be more optimistic, because of the disability, not in spite of it.