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| Introductions » Intro » 5/13/2018 8:02 pm |
- mnels123
- Replies: 2
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Welcome. I am also new and in a similar position to you, so I am looking forward to dialoguing with everyone here.
| Chit-Chat » How to end atheist provincianism/promote philosophical education? » 5/06/2018 6:46 pm |
- mnels123
- Replies: 47
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I'd like to take this thread in a different direction if anyone is interested. How exactly, do we promote philosophy in a culture that is ignorant of it, too indoctrinated by scientism (Dawkins, Krauss, Harris, even Steven Pinker) to engage with the arguments of classical theism?
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There are several groups of people I think we need to engage: scholars, lay people online, and lay people in real life.
1. Scholars- Obviously, Feser, Davies and others are working on this and unless you have the fortitude to earn a PhD in philosophy and enter the field, there isn't a whole lot we can do. Nonetheless, most scholars are reachable and if you see them spreading ignorance on their blogs or on twitter, I believe we should engage with them (unless they are obvious trolls and can be ignored).
2. Lay people online- I have come across all sorts of weak arguments for atheism in the following places:
- twitter
-reddit (atheism, ask an atheist, and even on the classical theism subreddit)
-youtube comment sections
-blogs
-opinion pieces in the NYT, etc.
-amazon and goodread reviews
Here is one channel that literally has a video called "Accusing an atheist of scientism is an admission of defeat"
I know opinions differ here, but I strongly believe that anyone who is equipped to deal with these arguments philosophically, should consider picking one venue, making an account, and entering the debate. Obviously, no one has time to just respond to every little thing on the net, but even just picking one channel/subreddit, becoming a regular, and arguing (respectfully) would help debunk this idea that classical theism is bankrupt.
3. Lay people in real life- Anyone you know in person is worth talking to obviously. Especially those who are otherwise sympathetic to theism but don't understand the philosophy at all. I heard a sermon in which the priest questioned the value of arguing about these matters--I got coffee with him, discussing
| Chit-Chat » Learning how to speak cogently » 5/06/2018 6:22 pm |
- mnels123
- Replies: 5
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Speak more slowly, and practice in front of a mirror. So read the first section of article, stop, look in front of a mirror and give a summary. Notice when you are stalling and about to say umm or uhh, and just pause instead. You don't need to be fast, and flashy--slow and steady can be good.
Also, if you get nervous in front of people, you might try out Toastmasters or something where you can practice this.
| Theoretical Philosophy » Feser's account of change » 4/06/2018 3:51 am |
| Religion » How to speak with atheists » 4/06/2018 3:49 am |
- mnels123
- Replies: 120
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Hi Joe and Miguel. I agree that it takes some time to get a grasp of these arguments, as well as practice formulating them clearly when talking to people.
My question was going to be if anyone had suggestions for engaging with people online. I don't want to hijack the thread (and let me know if I should just make a new topic for this), but here are some thoughts:
- Engaging people online is much more difficult, since you don't have a personal relationship with the other people.
- Thus, comments on twitter, facebook, redditt, message boards etc. aren't that productive, and usually turn into ad hominem attacks fairly soon.
- Randal Rauser "the tentative apologist," told me that he finds his own website/blog an exception, since he can talk to the same people over and over, and get to know them, but otherwise he finds most internet discourse useless.
- On a personal note, I've tried talking about classical theism on twitter and it rarely goes anywhere, but I nonetheless feel obligated to respond when I see poor atheist arguments and strawmanning.
Anyone else have experience doing this?
| Religion » China on course to become ‘most Christian nation’ by 2030 » 4/06/2018 3:42 am |
- mnels123
- Replies: 5
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Exactly, they just have such a high population in general that they tend to claim these kinds of titles.
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