How can you give a name to something that does not exist?
2006-09-15 02:50:04 · 21 answers · asked by Padmini Gopalan 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Yes! Who do you think kicked all this into motion???
2006-09-15 02:52:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, I've noticed a couple previous answerers falling into the logical fallacy of "argument from personal incredulity." Their argument basically goes, "I can't believe that trees, nature, etc. came about through purely natural, physical laws, ergo, they must have come about through divine supernatural powers." This is not only a non-sequitur (the conclusion does not follow from the premise), but the person making the statement presumes themselves to be knowledgeable enough about their god to know that their god who presumably created this universe somehow did not have the ability to fashion the laws of nature to get the universe to the point it's at now on its own.
As for the statement, "god does not exist," it is not only NOT absurd, but any rational person should consider it's opposite to be the absurd statement. There is absolutely ZERO evidence for the existence of anyone's version of god or gods. Thus, making a factual statement that something exists even though there is no supporting evidence whatsoever, is absurd and irrational.
The great majority of people who believe in a god do not believe in the existence of unicorns, leprechauns, the tooth fairy, etc. And yet, their god is of the exact same status as these other things. I guess that just goes to show how irrational humans can be.
2006-09-15 10:53:38 · answer #2 · answered by R[̲̅ə̲̅٨̲̅٥̲̅٦̲̅]ution 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Snaffizulu does not exist. There you go. Snaffizulu's only existence is a random series of letters, and it is a place-holder for an empty object. So, while it exists as a logical entity in communication, it is EMPTY of any meaning beyond that. If I assert that Snaffizulu created the earth, that does not endow Snaffizulu with anything more than an idle assertion without any foundation.
Logical arguments for the existence of God are really not provable, especially by specious reasoning based on logical games. Also, if you rely on logic, that removes the whole need for faith. I'd love to see a miracle. Then I would have a logical foundation for my belief in God. Till then, I'll just have to vote for God because I don't like the alternative.
2006-09-15 10:24:33 · answer #3 · answered by freeetibet 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess no one really knows whether or not God (or any other divine being, for that matter) exists... We had a discussion in philosophy class about that. "I know" statements are factual; "I think" statements can either be right or wrong. But no one can really find the truth about "I believe" ones.
Your statement could fall under the "I believe". After all, no one can tell anyone that his or her belief is right or wrong. Some people believe in God, some don't... Others are even doubtful...
But I don't think such a statement is absurd at all... It depends on what YOU believe in...
2006-09-15 10:01:02 · answer #4 · answered by get.real 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We have six senses and surely during one moment or another in our lives we will pass that moment when we sense there is truly a God: witnessing the miracle of birth for example, how is it possible that a little child is born out of a mother and starts to be a living person on its own. It is miracle enough. Look at how nature is built and how the different species survive and keep everything in perfect balance (without interference of man of course..) People surviving accidents miraculously, for example or the other way around, people who cannot seem to escape death and then it is clear there time has come. To me, personally, that is the hand of God, who we might not see but surely sense in presence.
So, I don't think the statement is absurd but very unlikely when it comes to truth in it
2006-09-15 10:00:04 · answer #5 · answered by Avatar13 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
So the statement, "Unicorns don't exist" is also absurd. I think you are confused about what the word exist means. To say something exists means that there are one or more of that thing in the universe now. So if I say dogs exist that means that there is at least one dog in the universe now. Likewise if I say goblins don't exist then that means that there are 0 goblins in the universe right now.
2006-09-15 09:58:26 · answer #6 · answered by silondan 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It took a long time for me to understand what atheists were talking about when they said that 'God does not exist.'
What I take from that statement is that the deity referred to as 'God' by Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam is an invention of fable and mythology just as are the gods of the Norsemen and the Greeks and any other primitive people who invent deities to explain natural phenomena.
The concept of an omniscient being who watches every moment of people's lives, chooses one group of people over another like a bad parent, has wrathful fits, looks like people (cute sleight of hand, saying man was made in God's image; it is God who was invented in man's image) and lurks everywhere is a source of bemusement to people who cannot accept fables of any sort, like the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.
The statement itself, that 'God does not exist' is quite rational. All of the tenets of alchemy don't exist either, yet many of them have names. The wonderful capacity of the human brain can give names, attributes, and even money to many things that don't exist. Just go to any fountain and see all the coins thrown in to support wishes to be granted.
2006-09-15 10:04:35 · answer #7 · answered by nora22000 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's what is so fun about language, we can name anything real or imagined. However, given what we know I feel it is absurd to say God does not exist.
2006-09-15 09:54:05 · answer #8 · answered by Nora Explora 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's only as absurd as saying "God does exist".
Or offering an opinion on anything else the lacks falsifiability, for that matter.
I don't think that anyone can say He does or doesn't exist, you can only say whether you believe that He does or doesn't exist.
2006-09-15 10:09:07 · answer #9 · answered by bizangofish 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it is not an absurd statement. Until you are proven right or wrong anything is possible. As for naming things...well we humans like that...just as some people have imaginary friends and name them...
2006-09-15 16:17:23 · answer #10 · answered by aniski7 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
does bigfoot exist? he has a name yet no one can prove he exists. does the lochness monster exist? again, not proven yet he has a name. isnt it funny how closely the word good resembles the name "god" and "god" is supposed to be good? have you ever noticed how closely the word "devil" resembles the word "evil" good=god & evil=devil. weird huh? how about cinderella or little bo peep or even mighty mouse. all are names made up to tell a story, yet none of them exist.
2006-09-15 15:45:37 · answer #11 · answered by §eeker 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋