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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 3/22/2009
Posts: 2,370
Points: 7,185
Location: New Hampshire, United States
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Here is an interesting exercise published at TPM, The Philosophers Magazine, Battleground God. Here is their description of the activity, Quote:In this activity you’ll be asked a series of 17 questions about God and religion. In each case, apart from Question 1, you need to answer True or False. The aim of the activity is not to judge whether these answers are correct or not. Our battleground is that of rational consistency. This means to get across without taking any hits, you’ll need to answer in a way which is rationally consistent. What this means is you need to avoid choosing answers which contradict each other. If you answer in a way which is rationally consistent but which has strange or unpalatable implications, you’ll be forced to bite a bullet.
Question authority, before it questions you. How do you know, that you know, what you know?
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 12/28/2009
Posts: 2,466
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Location: the city by the bay
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Comparative Statistics
530785 people have completed this activity to date.
You suffered 1 direct hit and bit zero bullets.
This compares with the average player of this activity to date who takes 1.37 hits and bites 1.09 bullets.
46.07% of the people who have completed this activity, like you, took very little damage and were awarded the TPM Medal of Distinction.
8.17% of the people who have completed this activity emerged unscathed with the TPM Medal of Honour.
I took the "hit" on the last answer and I disagree with the hit.
This is like the psychological tests they give you with Protestant overtones. Very interesing.
peace out, >^,,^<
The poor object to being governed badly, whilst the rich object to being governed at all. G.K. Chesterton
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 5/27/2011
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Location: Germany
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Thank you. A very interesting link. (In spite of one direct hit at the very end.)
"Before I speak, I have something important to say."Groucho Marx
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 9/9/2010
Posts: 909
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Location: Australia
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I got tripped up over that ###Loch Ness monster,  Phew! my ancient brain is still funcioning,  One direct hit and one bite the bullet, and, it wasn't the last question,  You did very well kitten,  My result,  Congratulations! You have been awarded the TPM medal of distinction! This is our second highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground. The fact that you progressed through this activity being hit only once and biting very few bullets suggests that your beliefs about God are well thought out and almost entirely internally consistent. The direct hit you suffered occurred because one set of your answers implied a logical contradiction. The bitten bullets occurred because you responded in ways that required that you held views that most people would have found strange, incredible or unpalatable. At the bottom of this page, we have reproduced the analyses of your direct hit and bitten bullets. Because you only suffered one direct hit and bit only one bullet, you qualify for our second highest award. A good achievement!
RULES ARE FOR THE OBEYENCE OF FOOLS AND FOR THE GUIDENCE OF WISE MEN
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Location: United Kingdom
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It is abit like having to answer yes or no without qualifying it. Amusing but illogical.
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Aristotle
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 9/21/2009
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Location: Helsinki, Finland
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One hit and one bitten bullet.
I, too, disagree with the logic of this questionnaire makers. Well, I might accept the hit on question 16.
I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 1/18/2010
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Location: United Kingdom
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You have been awarded the TPM medal of distinction! This is our second highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.
Direct Hit 1
You answered False to Question 7 and True to Question 17.- b...r! Logical inconsistency.
Question 7 It is justifiable to base one's beliefs about the external world on a firm, inner conviction, regardless of the external evidence, or lack of it, for the truth or falsity of these convictions.
Question 17 It is justifiable to believe in God if one has a firm, inner conviction that God exists, regardless of the external evidence, or lack of it, for the truth or falsity of the conviction that God exists.
"The voice of the majority is no proof of justice." - Schiller
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 3/22/2009
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Location: New Hampshire, United States
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intelfam wrote:
Question 7 It is justifiable to base one's beliefs about the external world on a firm, inner conviction, regardless of the external evidence, or lack of it, for the truth or falsity of these convictions.
Question 17 It is justifiable to believe in God if one has a firm, inner conviction that God exists, regardless of the external evidence, or lack of it, for the truth or falsity of the conviction that God exists.
That's pretty funny Intel, I got the same two bullets, only for opposite answers. I read to much into 7. for example it is okay to hold to the notion of matter being solid, even if the walls appear to be melting due to the effect of some psychoactive chemical in the bloodstream. Of course I answered false to 17.
Question authority, before it questions you. How do you know, that you know, what you know?
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 10/18/2009
Posts: 1,368
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Location: Europe
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intelfam wrote:You have been awarded the TPM medal of distinction! This is our second highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.
Direct Hit 1
You answered False to Question 7 and True to Question 17.- b...r! Logical inconsistency.
Question 7 It is justifiable to base one's beliefs about the external world on a firm, inner conviction, regardless of the external evidence, or lack of it, for the truth or falsity of these convictions.
Question 17 It is justifiable to believe in God if one has a firm, inner conviction that God exists, regardless of the external evidence, or lack of it, for the truth or falsity of the conviction that God exists.
Ha! I did the same. I suppose it's justifiable to base your beliefs about the external world on a firm, inner conviction regardless of the external evidence, or lack of it, for the truth or falsity of these convictions if you want to and do no harm––I mean, be my guest––but it's not man's best idea technically. There seems to be a problem with the accuracy of the word "justify" here. If, on a physics test, you are asked if Mary is justified in concluding that the feather and the hammer dropped on the surface of the moon have the same weight it'd be wrong to answer Yes, Mary can believe whatever the heck she wants; but that is what you have to do here to remain consistent according to the exercise.
The opposite of hatred is love; the opposite of tyranny is love; the opposite of censorship is love; the opposite of evil is love; the opposite of politics is love; the opposite of war is love; the opposite of god is love.–– Salman RushdieBroadly speaking, it is held that getting money is good and spending money is bad. Seeing that they are two sides of one transaction, this is absurd; one might as well maintain that keys are good, but keyholes are bad. Whatever merit there may be in the production of goods must be entirely derivative from the advantage to be obtained by consuming them. –Bertrand RussellNever believe a liar. Papa, angry people burn our home.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 6/2/2009
Posts: 2,840
Points: 8,622
Location: United States, Pacific Northwest
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Congratulations!
You have been awarded the TPM medal of honour! This is our highest award for outstanding service on the intellectual battleground.
The fact that you progressed through this activity neither being hit nor biting a bullet suggests that your beliefs about God are internally consistent and very well thought out.
A direct hit would have occurred had you answered in a way that implied a logical contradiction. You would have bitten bullets had you responded in ways that required that you held views that most people would have found strange, incredible or unpalatable. However, you avoided both these fates - and in doing so qualify for our highest award. A fine achievement!
My responses on 7 and 17 were both "False". While I do believe there is a place for evaluation of evidence and acceptance of something with less than absolute proof, I do not believe one can accept "regardless of the external evidence or lack of it . . ." (in either case).
The external evidence must be convincing.
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Rank: Advanced Member
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Has this link timed out or has an archangel slammed the door in my face? It doesn't seem to work.
"Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon" Suzanne Ertz
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 5/27/2011
Posts: 5,382
Points: 15,916
Location: Germany
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Maybe they've run out of TPM medals?
"Before I speak, I have something important to say."Groucho Marx
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 1/18/2010
Posts: 1,197
Points: 3,275
Location: United Kingdom
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IMcRout wrote:Maybe they've run out of TPM medals? Possibly not enough stretcher bearers for all the corpses?
"The voice of the majority is no proof of justice." - Schiller
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 11/13/2009
Posts: 1,042
Points: 3,157
Location: India
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pedro wrote:Has this link timed out or has an archangel slammed the door in my face? It doesn't seem to work. doesn't work for me as well.
In this world there is no literate population that is poor and no illiterate population that is other than poor. - J.K.Galbraith
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 3/22/2009
Posts: 2,370
Points: 7,185
Location: New Hampshire, United States
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There does indeed seem to be trouble at the site. Their contact page is also not working, I'll see if I can find a way to let them know.
Question authority, before it questions you. How do you know, that you know, what you know?
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 9/21/2009
Posts: 19,930
Points: 59,799
Location: Helsinki, Finland
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Their MySQL server is down. Epi, You can find contact information in http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/philosophersnet.com
I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 3/22/2009
Posts: 2,370
Points: 7,185
Location: New Hampshire, United States
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Thanks JJ I emailed him and the link is now working again. \
Question authority, before it questions you. How do you know, that you know, what you know?
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