Through Francisco d'Anconia, Ayn Rand claimed in her marvelous novel Atlas Shrugged that "Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong." Do you have any contradictions or tensions in your belief system? Are all of your beliefs compatible? Do you find that you must use some kind of sophisticated reasoning in order for you to justify what appear to be two contradictory beliefs? What should we do if we find that our beliefs contradict with one another? Take the philosophical health check at the link below and let's discuss where you found tensions.
FTA:
To take the philosophical health check (PHC), go through the statements below, selecting for each one 'agree' or 'disagree'. If not sure, select the response which is closest to your opinion. When you have answered all the questions, click the 'submit' button and the results of your check will be generated.
The PHC does not judge whether your responses are right or wrong, so feel free to answer as honestly as you can. Each statement is carefully worded, so do pay attention to what each one actually says.
1. There are no objective moral standards; moral judgements are merely an expression of the values of particular cultures
2. So long as they do not harm others, individuals should be free to pursue their own ends
3. People should not journey by car if they can walk, cycle or take a train instead.
4. It is always wrong to take another person's life
5. The right to life is so fundamental that financial considerations are irrelevant in any effort to save lives
6. Voluntary euthanasia should remain illegal
7. Homosexuality is wrong because it is unnatural
8. It is quite reasonable to believe in the existence of a thing without even the possibility of evidence for its existence
9. The possession of drugs for personal use should be decriminalised
10. There exists an all-powerful, loving and good God
11. The second world war was a just war
12. Having made a choice, it is always possible that one might have chosen otherwise
13. It is not always right to judge individuals solely on their merits
14. Judgements about works of art are purely matters of taste
15. On bodily death, a person continues to exist in a non-physical form
16. The government should not permit the sale of health treatments which have not been tested for efficacy and safety
17. There are no objective truths about matters of fact; "truth" is always relative to particular cultures and individuals
18. Atheism is a faith just like any other, because it is not possible to prove the non-existence of God
19. Proper sanitation and medicines are generally good for a society
20. In certain circumstances, it might be desirable to discriminate positively in favour of a person as recompense for harms done to him/her in the past
21. Alternative and complementary medicine is as valuable as mainstream medicine
22. Severe brain-damage can rob a person of all consciousness and selfhood
23. To allow an innocent child to suffer needlessly when one could easily prevent it is morally reprehensible
24. The environment should not be damaged unnecessarily in the pursuit of human ends
25. Michelangelo is one of history's finest artists
26. Individuals have sole rights over their own bodies
27. Acts of genocide stand as a testament to man's ability to do great evil
28. The holocaust is an historical reality, taking place more or less as the history books report
29. Governments should be allowed to increase taxes sharply to save lives in the developing world.
30. The future is fixed, how one's life unfolds is a matter of destiny
Philosophical Health Check (the test must be taken at this link to be scored and receive feedback)
DISCUSS!
Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Jan 5, 2011 at http://www.braincrave.com/viewblog.php?id=424
We all admire beauty, but the mind ultimately must be stimulated for maximum arousal. Longevity in relationships cannot occur without a meeting of the minds. And that is what Braincrave is: a dating venue where minds meet. Learn about the thoughts of your potential match on deeper topics... topics that spawn your own insights around what you think, the choices you make, and the actions you take.
We are a community of men and women who seek beauty and stimulation through our minds. We find ideas, education, and self-improvement sexy. We think intelligence is hot. But Braincrave is more than brains and I.Q. alone. We are curious. We have common sense. We value and offer wisdom. We experiment. We have great imaginations. We devour literacy. We are intellectually honest. We support and encourage each other to be better.
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Sep, 2017 update: Although Braincrave resulted in two confirmed marriages, the venture didn't meet financial targets. Rather than updating our outdated code base, we've removed all previous dating profiles and retained the articles that continue to generate interest. Moving to valME.io's platform supports dating profiles (which you are welcome to post) but won't allow typical date-matching functionality (e.g., location proximity, attribute similarity).
The Braincrave.com discussion group on Second Life was a twice-daily intellectual group discussions typically held at 12:00 PM SLT (PST) and 7:00 PM SLT. The discussions took place in Second Life group chat but are no longer formally scheduled or managed. The daily articles were used to encourage the discussions.