If he would revise his opinions on economics, I would vote for this guy.

Well... not really.

First off, this isn't a specifically religious line of argument. Sure, the philosophers that he's quoting are indeed well known Christian philosophers. But one doesn't need to be Christian, or to be religious, or even broadly theistic in order to recognize the strength of some arguments for dualism.

So let's start with QualiaSoup's repeated comments about what would constitute a coherent account of dualism. His constant question is what an account of dualism would even look like without a physical account. For example, "How would an agent with no physical manifestation differ from no agent at all?"But this borders on circularity--if the only kind of coherent account that exists is a physical account, then there clearly cannot be a coherent account of dualism. Which is to say that QualiaSoup appears to be rejecting dualist accounts because they are dualist. Which is circular reasoning. If QualiaSoup wishes to advance such an objection, then it demonstrates nothing but the state of his beliefs about dualism, and says nothing about the truth or falsehood of the substance dualist theory of mind.


Moreover, he consistently conflates consciousness with cognition. Cognition pertains to the processing of data. An entity that is not conscious could certainly go through processes we would recognize as cognitive. Consciousness pertains to the awareness or the internal experience of, among other things, the objects of cognition. Even if cognition were largely handled by a physical brain, one could still assert a non-physical consciousness without any contradictions.

QualiaSoup does not seem to realize that substance dualism all but requires that damage to the brain result in bizarre functioning. One of the most consistent elements of dualist theories since the 17th century has been an understanding that the mind and the brain have causal relationships with each other. Pointing out the bizarre effects of brain damage on mental functioning no more disproves dualism than pointing out that drinking too much alcohol gets you drunk--the dualist already understands that these kinds of relationships must hold, and there are already the broad outlines of an account in place in dualism.

In his discussions of Swinburne's modal argument for dualism, QualiaSoup fundamentally misunderstands possibility and "apparent conceivability." Let's quote from the revised edition of Swinburne's Evolution of the Soul:

"The only arguments which can be given to show some supposition to be logically possible are arguments which spell it out, which tell in detail a story of what it would be like for it to be true and do not seem to involve any contradictions, i.e. arguments from apparent conceivability. Apparent conceivability
is evidence (though not of course conclusive evidence) of logical possibility." (pp. 324-325)

QualiaSoup's objection is clearly a straw-man argument when you look at the full passage. The counter-example of the time-traveler fails the "apparent conceivability" test immediately because it involves an obvious contradiction. Which is to say that, by Swinburne's definition, QS's example is NOT apparently conceivable. Moreover, QualiaSoup clearly misunderstands the notion of "logical possibility." A statement can be logically possible without being physically possible. It is logically possible that the moon is made out of cheese--there are no logical contradictions that would follow--despite its being a physical impossibility. Swinburne's argument has nothing to do with physical possibility--only logical possibility.

tl;dr
QualiaSoup needs to take some more philosophy classes. Philosophy is totally badass.

>> ^hpqp:

Once again QualiaSoup delivers a quality take-down of religious sophistry.

1. completely, utterly vague. Chances are, Exxon will still receive their subsidy.

2. mostly unrealistic. america is #1 energy hog and neither technology advancements nor more drilling here will solve that or feed that gluttonous thirst. we are dependent on foreign energy, which is partly why we have 450 military bases around the world. We need to reduce need, and to do that, we need to re-examine our role in the world as pure consumers.

3. Vague. While education is of the highest necessity, throwing a job training program at it ain't gonna help. The system, which is based on the idea of an assembly line, needs to be revised, and teaching needs to be valued as a higher profession.

4. Pay a little more? The rich need to pay a whole fuckload more. A thriving economy is based on a fluid, interdependent economic web, not a trickle down hierarchy.

That sounds too much like, yeah it's an attack ad but I don't like the guy and think his character should be attacked...

The entirety of the evidence in this clip is a single persons word that Mitt was very rude and disrespectful to them. Case closed I guess. Unless it was Obama, and suddenly the sift would mobilize against the idiocy.

>> ^PostalBlowfish:

yes, it's an "attack" ad in the sense that it doesn't cover anything except the character of the targeted candidate. however, i think the message is relevant. the candidates have differences in platform but over the last decade or so, i find i value their character more than their positions. we have a hard time getting business done in washington because we have too many people of poor character who would rather play political games than pass serious legislation.
i don't want a president or congressman who is completely disinterested in the views of others, who is hostile to discussion, or who absolutely refuses to revise his own opinions. in fact, i want to vote these assholes out regardless of their positions on issues. i want people who are willing to compromise, who understand that not everyone agrees and who will seek common ground, who are more interested in progress than preening. an ad like this tells me something about the targeted candidate, and i can appreciate that it is not just the standard vitriolic screed or godwin invocation.
of course, it didn't tell me anything i didn't already know. i would not work for mittens if he owned a business, and i would not even want to put him in charge of a bingo game.

yes, it's an "attack" ad in the sense that it doesn't cover anything except the character of the targeted candidate. however, i think the message is relevant. the candidates have differences in platform but over the last decade or so, i find i value their character more than their positions. we have a hard time getting business done in washington because we have too many people of poor character who would rather play political games than pass serious legislation.

i don't want a president or congressman who is completely disinterested in the views of others, who is hostile to discussion, or who absolutely refuses to revise his own opinions. in fact, i want to vote these assholes out regardless of their positions on issues. i want people who are willing to compromise, who understand that not everyone agrees and who will seek common ground, who are more interested in progress than preening. an ad like this tells me something about the targeted candidate, and i can appreciate that it is not just the standard vitriolic screed or godwin invocation.

of course, it didn't tell me anything i didn't already know. i would not work for mittens if he owned a business, and i would not even want to put him in charge of a bingo game.

@hpqp and @LarsaruS -- come read the ALL CAPS in Kluwe's revised, sanitized letter to that pastor.

To add to Mizume's post, don't let the fanboys fool you - this is a Subaru mechanically with the styling done by Toyota. It is essentially a later revision engine in Subaru's line of completely computer designed engines, starting with the EZ30. Reliability, weight, clearances and overall size have been optimized for the application and this is part of the reason 0w-20 oil is specified.

People would try to convince you that its "Toyotas" direct injection design but this is not entirely true. The specifications for the components in "Toyotas" direct injection setup are from the same suppliers that other auto makers have access to. To give you a similar scenario know that the engine computer from an Evolution of recent years are nearly the same as the engine computer from an STi.

While not sharing parts directly it is obvious that the FA20 (BRZ engine) and the FB20 (Impreza engine) are of the same design. There are already plans for an "FB20 Turbo" so it is only a management decision holding up a turbo BRZ.

I'd argue the biggest issue holding up tuners from making big changes is the gasoline direct injection. Yes there are people who have dealt with GDI tuning but this is a relatively new field.

quoting Wiki:

While there are a number of versions to the Bible. There are 8 primary versions found in history:
Septuagint - 250 A.D. Written in Greek
Vulgate- 400 A.D. First version of the Bible which is canonized at the Council of Carthage in 400 A.D. Written in Latin
Luther's German Bible- 1534 A.D.
King James Version- 1611 A.D. This is the most widely used versions however it has large number of errors given that none of the writers had a decent understanding of Hebrew.
Revised Standard Version- 1952 A.D. Literal translation into American English which used the earliest possible text
New International Version- 1960's & 70's A.D. This is a very good contemporary English version. Another good contemporary English version is New King James Version (NKJV)
The Youngs Literal Translation is as close to the originals as you can get, translated by Robert Young in 1898 A.D.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_different_versions_are_there_of_the_Bible#ixzz1z4GtYcTU

If that bible he saw was written in English, then it too was a revision.

Here's the law, my highlights added:

Ohio Revised Code Title [29] XXIX CRIMES - PROCEDURE Chapter 2917: OFFENSES AGAINST THE PUBLIC PEACE
2917.11 Disorderly conduct.
(A) No person shall recklessly cause inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm to another by doing any of the following:

(5) Creating a condition that is physically offensive to persons or that presents a risk of physical harm to persons or property, by any act that serves no lawful and reasonable purpose of the offender.

(E)(1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of disorderly conduct.
[http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2917.11]

So, were they (A) causing inconvenience, annoyance or alarm? I think annoyance/alarm is fair.

Was it (5) physically offensive? Certainly -- notice the test isn't whether the person is urinating or not, but whether someone is physically offended by it. Seeing someone peeing -- whether they happen to be actors or not -- is physically offensive.

Did the act (5) serve a lawful and reasonable purpose to the offender? Well, he was making a TV bit by being physically offensive and annoying/alarming people, which is useful because it's his job. Does that count as "serving a purpose"? Going 'round in circles here.

>> ^chingalera:

If we could get a group of elementary school kids from 1926 in a classroom today they'd out-test the teacher (indoctrinator).


This is probably untrue due the the fact that the Intelligence Quotient keeps being revised upwards and not downwards. Some of those kids today would be considered legally retarded.

Applying Deweyite school principles of schools today though would be a major change that we con enact and would make our education system better.

I don't know if you saw the revision to my other reply, but I found a video or two (or 107) to put into a playlist http://videosift.com/playlists/oritteropo/Folk-music-suggestions

I think a few non-folk ones might've crept in there... I was going to hand you the keys to the playlist for if you saw any, but the add members form is currently broken.

>> ^Crooksandliars:

Leading demands for a revised strategy, French Socialist Francois Hollande, a reader of Krugman, tops President Nicolas Sarkozy in the polls with the warning that putting debt-cutting over expansion is “bringing desperation to people.” Elsewhere, Greeks are turning to anti-austerity parties, recession-wracked Spain and Italy are relaxing deficit targets, the Dutch government is splintering and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is calling for a “growth compact.”
.


This attitude strikes me as totally bogus. We think the European voters are voting on macro-economic policy? They're throwing out governments because they're unhappy, and they're installing people who promise them higher spending because they like having the government that spends money on them. Italy and Spain aren't revising their deficit targets because of some new found economic enlightenment, they simply lack the willpower or competence to live within their means.

Maybe stimulative policies are better than austerity. I'm not an economist, so I don't know. What I do know is that voters and politicians haven't stopped being short-sighted.

>> ^Sagemind:
14 octave range? - Hardly. In fact she didn't hit any of the high notes in the song at all.
And there is no way her voice could hit the lower octaves.
Roy Orbison had a 3-4 octave range and was considered one of the best. I have no idea where the claim she can hit14 octaves - That's absurd
Soprano: C4 – C6
Mezzo-soprano: A3 – A5
Contralto: F3 – F5
Tenor: C3 – C5
Baritone: F2 – F4
Bass: E2 – E4
When you have an octave that means that the two notes are exactly 8 notes apart, hence the "oct" part in the word. This means that the octave of D is D. You count 8 notes from the starting note. i.e.
D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D= 8 notes all together
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Orbison
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_range
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080214233219AAvJ05T


I think a description revision might be necessary. Thanks for the input on this!