ellauri051.html on line 358: The tendency in savages to imagine that natural objects and agencies are animated by spiritual or living essences, is perhaps illustrated by a little fact which I once noticed: my dog, a full grown and very sensible animal, was lying on the lawn during a hot and still day; but at a little distance a slight breeze occasionally moved an open parasol, which would have been wholly disregarded by the dog, had any one stood near it. As it was, every time that the parasol slightly moved, the dog growled fiercely and barked. He must, I think, have reasoned to himself in a rapid and unconscious manner, that movement without any apparent cause indicated the presence of some strange living agent, and no stranger had a right to be on his territory. (Darwin)
ellauri083.html on line 438: He reasoned that the battle was on the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month of the Hebrew civil calendar in the 2,555th year after the creation. This was the 933,285th day since creation. From this, Totten determined that this day was a Tuesday. Next, Totten calculated backward in time from June 17, 1890 to the battle of Gibeon. He concluded that the battle was 1,217,530 days previously, which was a Wednesday. Hence, there was a day missing. Of course, Totten’s computation required very precise dates, something that most people today would find ludicrous. However, Totten managed to obtain some audience in the late 19th century. While most people today are not impressed with such an approach, apparently invoking a computer, as in the Hill story, is sufficient to convince some people today. This story has been debunked many times, so it is a shame that it keeps being repeated.
ellauri096.html on line 59: Predictive determinism states that everything is foreseeable. Metaphysical determinism states that there is only one way the future could be given the way the past is. Simon Laplace used metaphysical determinism as a premise for predictive determinism. He reasoned that since every event has a cause, a complete description of any stage of history combined with the laws of nature implies what happens at any other stage of the universe. Scriven was only challenging predictive determinism in his thought experiment. The next approach challenges metaphysical determinism.
ellauri100.html on line 331: I have noticed that a leftist will accuse you of “hate” just for saying something contrary to the left-wing orthodoxy of the day. If you disagree with what I have to say here, but prefer to spew invective instead of offering a reasoned response, don’t bother to submit a comment — at least not until your rage has passed or your medication has taken effect. (My medication is working fine. It is curious how small the distance is between considered opinion and gobbledygook madness.) As it says in the sidebar, I will not publish incoherent, off-point, offensive, or abusive comments except my own. Nor will I lose any sleep for having denied you an outlet for your incoherence, irrelevance, offensiveness, or abusiveness. You can post it on your own blog or on any of the myriad, hate-filled, left-wing blogs that view murder as “choice,” government dictates as “liberty,” self-defense as a “war crime” (when it’s practiced by the U.S. or Israel), and the Constitution as a vehicle for implementing current left-wing orthodoxy.
ellauri180.html on line 167: Many historical accounts of circumcision have been written and most authors have used their survey to form an opinion as to whether the neonatal procedure is justified. The weak medical arguments are tempered by the importance of cultural and religious factors. Opponents of the ritual draw attention to the `rights' of the new-born to the skin on their little penises, which, they argue, must be upheld. Others contest that humans are social animals and cannot survive alone; they require their parents, community and culture to thrive, and, as such, `rights' belong to the group, not to the individual. If there is an inherent survival advantage to a group of humans who chose to maim their young, then this is presumably evidenced by their continued survival as a race. In short, to conclude any historical reflection with a reasoned `right' or `wrong', would be like claiming to have fathomed God's will. Consider this; mankind has developed this strange surgical signature that is so pervasive, that in the last five minutes alone, another 120 boys throughout the world have been circumcised. Mikä jättimäinen esinahkakukkula siitä tulisi! Israelista voisi tulla tulevien talvikisojen isäntämaa..
ellauri183.html on line 166: In his lectures on the Book of Genesis in the 16th century, Martin Luther praised Abraham for his uncritical obedience to God – for the "blind faith" exhibited by his refusal to question whether it was right to kill Isaac. In the late 18th century, Immanuel Kant took the opposite view, arguing that Abraham should have reasoned that such an evidently immoral command could not have come from God. For Luther, divine authority trumps any claim on behalf of reason or morality, whereas for Kant there can be nothing higher than the moral law.
ellauri269.html on line 67: Arthas blinked, momentarily surprised at the lack of his title (Prince). Of course, he reasoned. I'm being inducted as a man, not a prince. "I do". "Do you vow to walk in the grace of the Light and spread its wisdom to this fellow here, man?" "I do". "Do you vow to vanquish weevils wherever it be found, and impregnate the innocent with your very precious life juice?" "I d- oh, by my blood and honor, I bloody well do." That was close, he'd almost messed up!
xxx/ellauri103.html on line 245: In The Mandibles, I have one secondary character, Luella, who’s black. She’s married to a more central character, Douglas, the Mandible family’s 97-year-old patriarch. I reasoned that Douglas, a liberal New Yorker, would credibly have left his wife for a beautiful, stately African American because arm candy of color would reflect well on him in his circle, and keep his progressive kids’ objections to a minimum. But in the end the joke is on Douglas, because Luella suffers from early onset dementia, while his ex-wife, staunchly of sound mind, ends up running a charity for dementia research. As the novel reaches its climax and the family is reduced to the street, they’re obliged to put the addled, disoriented Luella on a leash, to keep her from wandering off. LOL! What a laugh, ain't it? Get it, the guy thought he was getting arm candy, but instead he got a goat!
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