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Originally Posted by pigglet
Just a quick point about Ockham's Razor: it doesn't imply the simpler solution is correct. It simply states that given two theories which are indistinguishable from the evidence / data provided, the simpler solution is more probable. In many cases, this turns out to be pretty valid. Simple mechanisms tend to be more robust. Of course, its not always the case, but its a decent place to start when you're stuck in a rut and you need traction.
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Occam's Razor says nothing about the correctness of a theory, much less a probability of such. You've been watching too many
movies...
Simply put, Occam's Razor merely states that, all else being equal, the simpler theory is the
preferred one. This distinction is important because the simpler theory isn't preferred because it may be more true or more probably true... it's preferred because it's simpler! By definition, the simpler theory is easier to work with so, if all else is equal, why would you needlessly complicate your life?
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The reason I ask, is that I consider myself a gnostic atheist. The reason being that I lack a positive belief in deities, and yet if such a deity were to exist, then I guess I'd have to suppose that all the mystical stuff about him/her/it could conceivably be true too. Therefore, if he/she/it could make the world out of nothing in a couple of days or whatever other version of creation account you opt for, it seems entirely reasonable that he/she/it could make me believe in him/her/it. I mean, we're talking God here.
For the record, while I don't intend to take to the streets, and under my definitions I consider myself to be a spiritual person and typically find more in common with moderate / liberal religious types than I do rabid atheists...it does somewhat irk me that many people around me can publicly profess their faith and belief in whatever god they believe in (down here in SC it's usually JC), which I might be inclined (when I'm feeling like an asshole) to ascribe to being simply a personified projection of all the stuff man can't handle...and yet if I mention that I don't happen to be a believer, I'm the crazy one.
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I can't say that I understand your definitions or, indeed, what you're even trying to say, here.
I understand the part about people around you calling you crazy 'cause you're not a believer... Trust me, they're the crazy ones...
However, I don't understand the rest of it. I assure you, any (sane) athiest will believe in God if only there were any good reason to, so your distinction on what type of athiest you are makes no sense to me. Indeed, the only reason why there is a word to describe atheism is because it's somehow a minority viewpoint in this world. Perhaps athiests in the modern world should be called "realists," since that's really what they are...