Are all sceptics materialists?

[TheAdversary]

I've been arguing that I think that modern physical theories are moving towards absurdity. Computer Simulation or Multiverse is no
better than religion; Religion even trumps those theories in evidence!
Islam, for example, did stabilize a society for a very long time and even ushered in a Golden Age. And isn't it at least a little bit odd
that one man was able to conquer the entire Middle East within his lifetime? That's evidence. I doesn't trump Quantum Mechanics or
Relativity in evidence but it does trump Multiverse theory.
When I mention this a lot of times I get the response that it's a straw man to think that all sceptics believe in such theories. After all, they
are nothing but unproven hypothesises, right? The point I'm making however is that they are preferred by sceptics over religious theories
because present day sceptics are almost without exception Materialists. And that it is essentially the Materialistic world view that is in trouble
when I state that Islam has more evidence going for it than Magical Computer Programmers. So I'm accusing the present day scientists or sceptics
of being dogmatic Materialists. Otherwise, they should take Islam way more seriously than Multiverses since that's what the evidence says.

My question is if someone can provide me an example of a person considered a sceptic, yet who isn't a Materialist. Are there any sceptics that
aren't Materialists? Or is such a position considered to be implicitly contrary to scepticism?

 

[MikeG]

......Computer Simulation or Multiverse is no
better than religion..........

Why should we answer this spurious point again, having dealt with it thoroughly in a previous thread? Did you have difficulty understanding the explanations?

 

[TheAdversary]

Why should we answer this spurious point again, having dealt with it thoroughly in a previous thread? Did you have difficulty understanding the explanations?

I like to hear your explanation, then.

 

[Dave Rogers]

I like to hear your explanation, then.

You've had it explained to you repeatedly that these are postulates, not theories, and are in effect no more than, in one case, an interesting philosophical talking points, and in the other, an unproven aspect of a speculative theory. Nobody is claiming them as absolute truth, whatever strawmen you may want to base on them. So the problem is whether you've heard an explanation, but whether you've bothered to listen to it.

Dave

 

[Darat]

...snip...

My question is if someone can provide me an example of a person considered a sceptic, yet who isn't a Materialist. Are there any sceptics that
aren't Materialists? Or is such a position considered to be implicitly contrary to scepticism?

Me.

I'm a non-philosophical pragmatist.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Why the heck has "Materialist" turned into such a dirty word, practically a slur, for Woo Slingers?

 

[TheAdversary]

You've had it explained to you repeatedly that these are postulates, not theories, and are in effect no more than, in one case, an interesting philosophical
talking points, and in the other, an unproven aspect of a speculative theory. Nobody is claiming them as absolute truth, whatever strawmen you may want to
base on them. So the problem is whether you've heard an explanation, but whether you've bothered to listen to it.

Why aren't they taking Islam more seriously then? Islam is actually much more than just speculation; It stabilized a society!
Scientifically, you should take Islam more seriously. But academics do not do this. Why? That's the question!
Can you explain that one to me?
Stop making excuses about explanations that don't exist and trying to put me down as an idiot for not understanding those non-existent explanations.

 

[Darat]

Why aren't they taking Islam more seriously then? Islam is actually much more than just speculation; It stabilized a society!
Scientifically, you should take Islam more seriously. But academics do not do this. Why? That's the question!
Can you explain that one to me?
Stop making excuses about explanations that don't exist and trying to put me down as an idiot for not understanding those non-existent explanations.

That's your ignorance showing, academics do study cultures, societies, religions and so on.

That aside what has Islam got to do with skeptics being materialists or not?

 

[Darat]

And as a a personal favour could you please type your text without all the unneeded carriage returns? It makes reading your posts difficult?

 

[TheAdversary]

Why the heck has "Materialist" turned into such a dirty word, practically a slur, for Woo Slingers?

It used to be about weighing evidence. That would usually initially make any real seeker of Truth a Materialists or an Atheist.
But if more evidence becomes available, opinions need to change. If they do not, that's dogmatism.
And now, Materialist explanations have fallen into absurdity so far, the evidence is in favour of many religious theories, especially Islam.
So, Islam should be studied; Renewed interest should be generated. Otherwise, it exposes the Western scientists as dogmatic Materialists who
cling to their theories contrary to the actual, physical, evidence. False scientists, in other words. And is there anything more objectionable than
false science? (I have a Woo term for this : Choronzon.)

 

[Darat]

It used to be about weighing evidence. That would usually initially make any real seeker of Truth a Materialists or an Atheist.

No it was and is a philosophy.

But if more evidence becomes available, opinions need to change. If they do not, that's dogmatism.

And?

And now, Materialist explanations have fallen into absurdity

Which explanations?

so far, the evidence is in favour of many religious theories, especially Islam

What "theory" are you talking about?

So, Islam should be studied;

It is studied.

Renewed interest should be generated. Otherwise, it exposes the Western scientists as dogmatic Materialists who
cling to their theories contrary to the actual, physical, evidence. False scientists, in other words. And is there anything more objectionable than
false science? (I have a Woo term for this : Choronzon.)

Again what has this to do with skeptics being a materialist or not?

 

[TheAdversary]

That's your ignorance showing, academics do study cultures, societies, religions and so on.

They study it anthropologically. They don't take it seriously as a Theory of the Universe. And that now has more evidence going for it than their own
theories of the universe. They're more absurd, now. That's my point.
Hardcoded carriage returns are better. You can make the text look the way you want it. I hate it when computer programs try to decide for me how
my stuff should look. I also dislike Intellisense and all that. When I create my blog, this will change.

 

[arthwollipot]

They study it anthropologically. They don't take it seriously as a Theory of the Universe. And that now has more evidence going for it than their own.

No it doesn't.

 

[MikeG]

Why aren't they taking Islam more seriously then?.........

Because anything based on non-scientific unevidenced claims of the supernatural by ancients is by default treated as myth, unless evidence emerges to support its claims. Do you have any evidence of the existence of the Muslim god, for instance, or indeed, of any god? You may need to apply the following caveat: evidence has to be testable, verifiable, falsifiable and repeatable. Got that?

 

[Darat]

They study it anthropologically. They don't take it seriously as a Theory of the Universe.

Islam does not have a theory of the universe.

And that now has more evidence going for it than their own
theories of the universe.

Since Islam does not have a theory of the universe it can hardly have more evidence going for it.

They're more absurd, now. That's my point.
Hardcoded carriage returns are better.
You can make the text look the way you want it. I hate it when computer programs try to decide for me how
my stuff should look. I also dislike Intellisense and all that. When I create my blog, this will change.

I suspect it is the opposite - unless you want your posts to be hard to read?

This is what your posts look like for me - i.e. your text is broken "arbitrarily" as your hard carriage returns are not forcing the text to look as you want it to look.

 

[SusanB-M1]

I have listened to every word of this thread so far and will continue to do so but I really have not yet gained the least idea of what the adversary thinks a sceptic materialist actually is.

 

[TheAdversary]

Islam does not have a theory of the universe.

Yes it does. It's unfortunately beyond your understanding.
For more information on religious theory and the succession of the Masters read Aleister Crowley's books.

 

[arthwollipot]

Yes it does. It's unfortunately beyond your understanding.

Then why are you here trying to explain it to us?

For more information on religious theory and the succession of the Masters read Aleister Crowley's books.

I've read them. Well, some of them. They also are utterly without evidence and hence any reason to believe that they are true.

 

[MikeG]

.........This is what your posts look like for me - i.e. your text is broken "arbitrarily" as your hard carriage returns are not forcing the text to look as you want it to look.

TheAdversary (as well as Malbec) have been asked to fix their formatting time after time. Refusal to do so suggests that the deliberate annoyance caused is part of their plan.

 

[Darat]

Yes it does. It's unfortunately beyond your understanding.

I admit that the original in Arabic is beyond my comprehension but I have a couple of English translations of the Koran and have read it cover to cover but that was a long time ago. Can you point me to where the theory can be found?

For more information on religious theory and the succession of the Masters read Aleister Crowley's books.

Let's stick to one thing at a time. Please point me to where the Islamic theory of the universe can be found.



And again what has all this got to do whether all skeptics are materialists or not? (Which by the way I have provided the white crow to answer your question.)