Talking to Teach not Just Attack

“Damien, You come across as very arrogant and a bit of a dick if i’m honest, you constantly want everyone to know how good and perfect you are, it’s quiet cringy brother if i’m honest and will turn people away from this great page.” – Challenger

My response, So when one has no evidence to address in the claims of others, people often make logical fallacies life attacks to the person. Claims of feeling are not a valid method for facts. Argumentum ad hominem (also known as: personal abuse, personal attacks, abusive fallacy, damning the source, name calling, refutation by caricature, against the person, against the man). Description: Attacking the person making the argument, rather than the argument itself, when the attack on the person is completely irrelevant to the argument the person is making.

“I know that, but with you, it’s all I, me, you constantly put down people who you think are on a lower level than you, I’m saying you have a huge ego and it need’s feeding daily, and your ego eat’s well, very well. Please do not try and tell me what type of person I am, it won’t work with me, trying to bait me into a 3 hour back and fourth debate will not work, I was simply being honest with you, best….” – Challenger

My response, I put down flawed behavior not people.

“Foolish people are limited”. Shall I give other examples? Damien, there is a reason no one likes your post’s brother, enough said.” – Challenger

My response, You made false claims about me without evidence to justify them you mean and as it is not related directly to what I said you did in fact attack to me personally, so yes, a fallacy and still you defend it with more fallacies in thinking. You are now speaking for the minds of others? Fallacy after fallacy still not one valid argument for me.

“No my friend, the evidence is post after post after post of putting people down and me, me, i, i, me, and me.” – Challenger

My response, So more empty assertions thinking that you gave evidence?

“I don’t go back and fro for more than a few minutes, keep doing what your doing i’m done with you, good evening to you sir. ok.” – Challenger

My response, You are making a personal attack just own it. Lol

“Ok sorry about the attack, it was not ment to be, just an observation no one likes your post’s because to me it seem’s like egotistical b.s.” – Challenger

My response, Me being arrogant internally is a different thing irrelevant to how I behave unless I also behave in the same way and yet even so still an irrelevant issue to the facts I have.

“Telling people they are foolish etc is wrong, it will not bring them over to our side, making us here seem like we are arrogant assholes is wrong, we are not, we are Atheist, not arrogant assholes.” – Challenger

My response, No, I will keep doing so as it means (of a person or action) lacking good sense or judgment; unwise.

“Ah ok, good evening.” – Challenger

My response, So read it like this so you get it, “People or actions lacking good sense or judgment; are unwise or “foolish.” Now try removing your fallacious thinking and read what my meme said what foolish people do, are you claiming that is not what they do? Your fallacy pertaining to this misreading of what I wrote then used your misinterpretation to attack me is called a straw man fallacy. A straw man is a common form of argument and is an informal fallacy based on giving the impression of refuting an opponent’s argument, while actually refuting an argument that was not presented by that opponent.

“Geez, I tried telling you not to try to teach me what this or that is, I’m aware what a straw man argument is i debated theist’s for a long time, they use straw men alot.” – Challenger

My response, And… What would it mean if one understood fallacies in argumentation yet there they are using them over and over again? Foolish or intellectually dishonest?

“And I have to be in a building of mentally ill patient’s tomorrow, who drink lot’s of alcohol and take lot’s of drug’s, including prescribed medication, I don’t need to be told I’m misreading what you wrote, I’m smart enough to know what your already telling me, preach to the people who like your post’s. Oh, no one does, goodnight.” – Challenger

My response, Have a good night.

“Thank you brother, best.” – Challenger

My response, Take care. 🙂

A Commenter regarding this discussion: “He’s full of it. He repeats the same fallacy again and again. As for your posts, I happen to love them. I’ve learned a lot from your posts.”

Marquis Amon – “I read a lot of your posts and you are far from arrogant in my opinion. I think you focus on self-empowerment and self-improvement “may my actions be as noble as my thinking” you say you strive to be a good person in your posts. You don’t even become aggressive towards people unless they are abusive to you and others. Even then most of the time you just attack their thinking.”

Do you want what is true or want what you believe without concern for what may actually be true?

Empty Vs. Valid Claims

I reject Empty Claims and Desire Valid-Justification in order to feel a motivation to believe that claims have met their burden of proof in the substantiation of the proposed meaning. To me, empty claims, assertions, assumptions, and beliefs are ideas that equal offered opinions without the fortifying substance of a valid justification to substantiate its proposed meaning. A general thinking in all my epistemology theorizing is Justificationism. By claiming to know something by faith is to act in a way mirroring a dishonest thinker, as intellectually honest thinkers don’t claim knowledge without justification. I see the need for justification as part of the Burden of proof necessity and the rational requirement in the ethics of belief and these are Intellectual honest parts of good belief-etiquette. I value good Belief-Etiquette: reasoned belief-acquisitions, good belief-maintenance, and honest belief relinquishment. I am first always a rationalist, as reason is my only master. May I always be a truth seeker and not a blind faith believer. Thinking is good and one claiming otherwise is indeed a person erroring in reason.

I am not the thing abuse made, I am a shooting star blazing bright, shining far pass my past. Religion and it’s god myths are like a spiritually transmitted disease of the mind. This infection even once cured holds mental disruption which can linger on for a lifetime.

Don’t let anger become an unethical behavior.

A Comment from a fan: “Damien, you were a victim of what you call Christofascism (christian and fascism) as well as religiofascism (religion and fascism). And now you are a warrior for the victims of religious oppression. Imagine what it would be like if we didn’t have people like you out there. (Religion run amok, untethered). Thank you, Damien Marie AtHope.”
Another Comment from a Fan: “You argue atheism from a wide variety of angles. There is the rationalist rebuke, then there is the axiological rebuke. The former is truth-based, the second is value-based. While reason alone will suffice for some, most people believe emotionally, and the axiological aspect of showing them why religion produces immorality rebukes the emotional/ pseudo-moral component of faith as well. You package a lot of argumentative clout into short phrases for your lovely artwork.”
Another Comment from a Fan: “A favorite thing about what you do is your creative and generous way of sharing all your knowledge for the good of humankind. I admire & respect your ability to approach an inherently hostile subject with humor & genuine love. You are passionate about what is good and what is real. You strive to endow others with knowledge to better their own understanding. You have a pursuit of honesty and integrity. You tackle the nonsense of religious claims that are unmerited unsubstantiated and untenable. You make this all simple and easy to grasp for the leity.”
Another Comment from a Fan: “Damien, what I like about you is because you try, you try to be honest, you try to be kind, you try to be good to those less fortunate just because it’s the right thing to do, you try to promote love over hatred, you try to be a good person! (Those are just the first reasons that come to mind when I think about you.)”
Another Comment from a Fan: “Damien, I have never seen any single human being who is so devoted to unfolding some of the absurd things about religion and examine it in very scientific and ration way. Bravo”
Yer Another Comment from a Fan: “Damien, I love what you’re doing for the atheist community bro. You’ve been an inspiration to me. Just keep being a positive influence. We need you. Us atheists need you.”

Empathy: think in another’s thinking, try to feel their feelings and care about their experience.

Science is the tool that is best used with an awareness of humanity and thus, seen as a servant, that should be used to further human endeavors; such as, the advancement, development, structure, functioning and flourishing of human society. God claims are like a spiritually transmitted disease of the mind. And, to me, “faith” is merely things we would like to believe are true and hold the belief without proper validation to confirm that belief is true. I thus put no value in faith, as I only value justified true beliefs that have a reliable connected validity of reason or evidence. Faith is an invalid method to know the reality qualities of the world. Thus, every theory proposed from or with faith is equally invalid and since all gods and religions require faith at some point in the belief ownership process as or in place of evidence and/or valid reasoning about reality. Therefore, they are all automatically invalid due to the limitation of faith not being able to produce things into reality.

“Damien, Faith is the evidence of the unseen.” – Challenger

My response, How is it evidence? If it is unseen, how can one claim to know anything about something that is not seen? And how is one claim of faith differentiated from another contradictory faith belief?

I Don’t Have to Respect Ideas

People get confused ideas are not alive nor do they have beingness, Ideas don’t have rights nor the right to even exist only people have such a right. Ideas don’t have dignity nor can they feel violation only people if you attack them personally. Ideas don’t deserve any special anything they have no feelings and cannot be shamed they are open to the most brutal merciless attack and challenge without any protection and deserve none nor will I give them any if they are found wanting in evidence or reason. I will never respect Ideas if they are devoid of merit I only respect people. When I was young it was all about me, I wanted to be liked. Then I got older and it was even more about me, I wanted power. Now I am beyond a toxic ego and it is not just about me, I want to make a difference. Sexism is that evil weed that can sadly grow even in the well-tended garden of the individual with an otherwise developed mind. Which is why it particularly needs to be attacked and exposed; and is why I support feminism. Here are four blogs on that: Activism Labels Matter, thus Feminism is Needed, Feminist atheists as far back as the 1800s?, Sexism in the Major World Religions and Rape, Sexism and Religion?

Having privilege in race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, nationality, etc. does not mean one did not have it hard in life, it just was not hard due to race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, nationality, etc. if one has privilege in that area.

Empathy: think in another’s thinking, try to feel their feeling, and care about their experience.

Theism is presented as adding love to your life… But to me, more often it peddles in ignorance (pseudo-science, pseudo-history, and pseudo-morality), tribalism (strong in-group loyalty if you believe like them and aversion to difference; like shunning: social rejection, emotional distance, or ostracism), and psychological terrorism; primarily targeting well being both safety and comfort (you are born a sinner, you are evil by nature, you are guilty of thought crimes, threats of misfortune, suffering, and torture “hell”).

Hell yes, I am against the fraud that is the world religions.

Why not be against the promotion of woo-woo pseudo-truth, when I am very against all pseudo-science, pseudo-history, and pseudo-morality and the harm they can produce. Along with the hate, such as sexism and homophobia are too often seen or the forced indoctrination of children. And this coercive indoctrination of the world religions, with their pseudo-science, pseudo-history, and pseudo-morality mainly furthered by forced Hereditary Religion (family or cultural, religious beliefs forced on children because the parent or caregiver believes that way). This is sadly done, even before a child can be expected to successfully navigate reason; it’s almost as if religious parents believe their “woo-woo pseudo-truth” lies will not be so easily accepted if they wait on a mind that can make its own choice. Because we do see how hard it is for the ones forced into Hereditary Religion. It seems difficult for them to successfully navigate reason in relation to their woo-woo pseudo-truth, found in a religion they were indoctrinationally taught to prefer, because after being instructed on how to discern pseudo-truth as truth than just wishing that their blind servitude belief in a brand of religious pseudo-truth devoid of justified, valid or reliable reason and evidence. I care because I am a rationalist, as well as an atheist.

Thus, this religious set of “woo-woo pseudo-truth” pushed on the simple-minded as truth bothers me greatly. So, here it is as simple as I can make it you first need a good thinking standard to address beliefs one may approach as a possible belief warranted to be believed. I wish to smash that lying pig of religion with the Hammer of Truth: Ontology, Epistemology, and Axiology Questions (a methodological use of philosophy). Overall, I wish to promote in my self and for others; to value a worthy belief etiquette, one that desires a sound accuracy and correspondence to the truth: Reasoned belief acquisitions, good belief maintenance, and honest belief relinquishment. May we all be authenticly truthful rationalists that put facts over faith.

I have made many mistakes in my life but the most common one of all is my being resistant to change. However, now I wish to be more, to be better, as I desire my openness to change if needed, not letting uncomfortable change hold me back. May I be a rationalist, holding fast to a valued belief etiquette: demanding reasoned belief acquisitions, good belief maintenance, and honest belief relinquishment.

Truth Navigation: Techniques for Discussions or Debates

I do truth navigation, both inquiry questions as well as

strategic facts in a tag team of debate and motivational teaching.

Truth Navigation and the fallacy of Fideism “faith-ism”

Compare ideas not people, attack thinking and not people. In this way, we have a higher chance to promote change because it’s the thinking we can help change if we address the thinking and don’t attack them.

My eclectic set of tools for my style I call “Truth Navigation” (Techniques for Discussions or Debates) which involves:

*REMS: reason (rationalism), evidence (empiricism), and methodological “truth-seeking” skepticism (Methodic doubt) (the basic or general approach)
*The Hammer of Truth: ontology, epistemology, and axiology (methodological use of philosophy)
*Dialectical Rhetoric = truth persuasion: use of facts and reasoning (motivational teaching)
*Utilizing Dignity: strategic dignity attacks or dignity enrichments (only used if confusion happens or resistance is present)

Asking the right questions at the right time with the right info can also change minds, you can’t just use facts all on their own. Denial likes consistency, the pattern of thinking cannot vary from a fixed standard of thinking, or the risk of truth could slip in. Helping people alter skewed thinking is indeed a large task but most definitely a worthy endeavor. Some of my ideas are because I am educated both some in college (BA in Psychology with addiction treatment, sociology, and a little teaching and criminology) and also as an autodidact I have become somewhat educated in philosophy, science, archeology, anthropology, and history but this is not the only reason for all my ideas. It is also because I am a deep thinker, just striving for truth. Moreover, I am a seeker of truth and a lover of that which is true.

Ok, I am a kind of “Militant” Atheist

I want a war of ideas where the loser is ignorance or hate and the victor is kindness and a rational mind. Not another religious war with people where the loser is always humanity no matter the victor. What I hope for with my discussions or expressed ideas is not so much to strive to change people’s mind. But instead, I wish to inspire your mind to reason and to thrive on the search for valid and reliable evidence as well as a high standard n your ethics of belief. This ethics of belief I hope everyone adopts is something like this: reasoned belief acquisitions, good belief maintenance, and honest belief relinquishment. Sadly the professed thing of hope, “Religion” can be an and too often is an easy excuse to do horrible things, which is clear throughout history.

I am a BIG fan of the truth

“Where did you find it?! Mankind has been diligently seeking truth since time memorial!” – Challenger

My response, Your statement is a “truth claim” right after asking about truth: “Where did you find it?! Mankind has been diligently seeking truth since time memorial! (a “truth claim” emphasized with two exclamation marks seeming to demonstrate that you believed you had said a confirmed truth. So you do believe you have found a truth while acting as if you don’t know, and seemingly by your strength of assertion, believe I guess, that no one can but here I am teaching you truth!!!

I have been asked before, how can I stand to deal with illogical, ones lacking critical thinking, the unreasonable, misinformed but fully believe, deliberately uninformed or deluded people, often so kindly?

Well, I believe in others, or at least their ability to reason even if you don’t know how or are not paying attention currently. I can do deal with most people as I am often fighting for them even if they only feel I am against them and it usually is not that hard to do with a heart of compassion, as I care for the future of humanity and people have value. And, if people don’t listen or grasp logic, I try something else like reasoning. If they will not listen or grasp reasoning, I will try just getting them to think, maybe on something they can agree or they do understand trying to work them back to the rationalism they are not getting or are avoiding. Then, if I can get them to reason, I build that up to logic. If they don’t seem to get them to thinking or are trying to avoid I can draw them back to feelings, maybe on something they can agree or they do understand trying to work them back to thinking, then reasoning, and then finally back to logic with which they are not getting or are avoiding. In a general way, all reality, in a philosophic sense, is an emergent property of reason, and knowing how reason accrues does not remove its warrant. Feelings are experienced then perceived, leading to thinking, right thinking is reason, right reason is logic, right logic is mathematics, right mathematics is physics and from there all science.

“Damien, what I find interesting is how an atheist like you

spends so much time and energy on God and religion.” – Challenger

My response, Well, let’s see, maybe because we atheists and anti-religionists care to inform our fellow humans who have been lied to and are lying to others and often forcing religion on children indoctrinating them with lies over truth and it’s harming us all. You know, all the religious hate groups and religious violence stuff and the like. What I find interesting is how could a responsible caring ethical person stay silent against religions, that my friend is a much better question.

What is it to be Rational? I am a Rationalist.

As an atheist rationalist, I tend to filter everything through reason, empirical facts, and ethics before they can be accepted as justified, true or good.

A Rational Mind Values Humanity

A truly rational mind sees the need for humanity, as they too live in the world and see themselves as they actually are an alone body in the world seeking comfort and safety. Thus, see the value of everyone around them, as they too are the same and therefore, rationally as well a humanistically, we should work for this humanity we are part of. Moreover, we simply can either dwell in or help its flourishing (the humanity we are part of), as we are all in a metaphoric way, are in the hands of each other and communally need each other. We rise by helping each other and we may fail if we keep going as hurtful as humans too often are to each other. May we be good humans. We can be builders of life or its destruction. The person is political so the actions of my life are the expression of my political values even before I tell you what brand I may claim. We are not our past, though we are bound to it. We are also not our future self yet. So, just be the best you in the here and now. May the actions of my life be written deep with the poetry of my humanity. What do your actions say?

I am a high thinking primate, just trying to live an honorable life, being of service to others, and I wish as a life’s mission to be a kindness aficionado. And, I like to contemplate humans, humanity, and human flourishing.

My core definition of Humanism, is that humans can solve human problems by human means. I am not saying other things can’t or shouldn’t be added to it but to me, a definition of humanism must always contain something coherent to such a thinking or not contradict such as I have offered. Thus, why it is appropriate to say “good without god” when one is a humanist.

We as humanity must work together as one people and one human race. We can no longer sit back and watch the world burn. We are accountable for the world staying the same thus leading to extended suffering, or change the world to start alleviating suffering. For too long we have gotten comfortable with eyes of hate, which only seem to find victims, instead of eyes of love, helping us find friends. I am not calling for fighting for a political party; I am trying to inspire humanitarian flourishing not limited to even a country. As I wish to look to the big picture, that we are all global citizens, and I say it’s time we start acting like it. I, as others, promise to strive to help be the change so needed in this world. Will you join us?

Be thoughtful in what you say, because, words once released have power, due them being a method of transferring feelings not just ideas. Words are world builders and dramatic destructors. They can build mental castles to protect or dungeons to torment. May I strive to be kind to others with my words. And, I think back on my life, it’s not the times I was the most selfish but the times I was kind, that brighten my life. May I now make an even stronger effort to do so in all I do, as it’s so valuable to an enriched wellbeing in life.

Reject the Weakness of Anger and Open to the Strength of Kindness.

I wish to be more than the weakness of anger and instead with open arms of love welcome and support kindness as a way of life, not just a thing I do if convent. To me, it is almost never deserved rather it’s a gift. How beautiful is kindness not earned? Well, in my personal case at 17 when a thoughtful person showed me undeserved kindness and in my case it was life-changing. This kindness gift as often as I can as people matter. I wish to add value to the world and send out kindness to the world wishing to promote human flourishing as much as I can and we flourish best in acceptance, understanding, and support, may I be a good human I would be proud to be inspired by. I am wise realizing the wisest thing I have ever done was be kind, even though for me it has been so hard and I am proud to say I am a good human who strives to be kind.

May I be a kindness aficionado…

Even when I am debating people who are aggressive, I don’t generally wish to be aggressive back not for them but for the person I want to be. I do sometimes fail at this as I am not always as great at emotional intelligence as I would like to be. Ideally, I would be stoic but I am a hot head and that is something I am constantly striving for as I don’t want to abuse others even with words. I don’t try to make others look bad. I want to help others. I am intelligent and could be mean but I am also very thoughtful as well as open by nature, I also strive to be wise. Thus, I wish to be kind to others as much as I can, even those who are unkind to me, as I wish to be such a bright light of kindness that it can change lives and that is so valuable to me. I don’t want to be their leader I wish to inspire them to be their own leader and thus I see I must assist others not to attack others.

My goal is not just to be an atheist but use my life and talent to create Educational Writing, Art, Blogs, Video, Speaking, and Poetry a lot of them which I use directly or indirectly for my out atheism activism, thus I am mostly an activist, to me.

I am all for free thinking, if the evidence is there. Great, go down the rabbit hole but do not eat the rabbit shit offered as real; when its proof disappears like a mental mirage, gone in a poof magic as simple as the magical thinking that inspires all manner of flawed beliefs.

The eyes of the world predicted my failure but here I am, I am a survivor, No longer do I hide my face, I no longer fear a fall from your grace for I find my courage plain as day in the human race, may I be a good human. May I put truth above all and valiantly thrust a crusade or truth and caring, which will help show love can and will in the end if only in my black heart so often close to that deadman’s plank. I am a fighter, I don’t need you to save me, I don’t need your empty claims of magic in the world, a stumbling block to many, yet, I am no longer one of them, I am will to power. Say the truth plainly don’t allow pretend but do so with a caring desire to teach as one would to a friend. May I be a caring firebrand atheist. One, with an awakened humanity fully alive in my humanist heart, Desiring to Demonstrate my humanitarianism as I fully stand up for truth as a reality as well as kindness as all reality revolutionaries should, strongly speaking what is right as the truth is not pretended. I am bound by the limitations we all face but may I bravely be a good human past it all…

“Damien, you seem like a nice guy on a crusade to stop wooly thinking vis a vis reality. I think this is a Sisyphean task inasmuch as everyone distills reality as much, or more, from their experiences as reason. You are engaged in the proverbial kitten herding. I prefer your anthropological postings. I think you do too. I would abandon the philosophical stuff (which I don’t understand anyway) for the exciting new stuff we’re learning about human evolution… Just a thought.” – Commentor

My response, I am at my core a thinker. I will thus explain and expose all kinds of thinking and philosophy is a big part of that but yes, to me, personally, I get greater enjoyment from Prehistory, History of the world, Archaeology, Anthropology, Anthropogeny, Archaeogenetics, Genetics–Genealogy, Zooarchaeology, and Ethnography.

Marquis Amon – “To be honest, I think your philosophy is just as an integral part of your methodology and interest as anthropology. In fact, I recall you saying that philosophy is a key component to your atheism. That philosophy is an essential thought process to interpret the data of ontology and axiology. And, given that the commenter does not understand philosophy, it could help them in their thinking. I know you have written many articles explaining your philosophies, and since you use them in many of your pre-history writings, for example, the evolution and archaeological findings regarding religion.”

I want to make a difference in the world and try to bring hope and new thinking to others where I can. I also wish to champion kindness as often as I champion challenge in thinking and hope for wisdom as much as reason or doubt. I see it is easier to break others down than help them see a way back up. More than just my disbelief in religion and gods or all woo-woo, I hope people get how much I care about humanity and all the different people who are apart of it. We rise by helping each other. May I be thoughtful and care, as well as seek knowledge and share. May we all be good humans to ourselves and others.

Once there was a time when religion ruled the day and to propose a scientific world without god was paramount to a religious blasphemy. But now, no longer is the world completely held hostage by superstitious religious beliefs. No, we are in the time of science and to propose a religious world with a god is paramount to a scientific blasphemy.

“Damien, perhaps it isn’t as clear cut as we think. The universe being a physical entity stretching into infinity is very difficult to wrap our minds around, but stretching into infinity is not as difficult in our imagination. What if reality is more perception than physical? Isn’t imagination more in tune with infinity than something physical? Could it be collective consciousness that created the universe and everything in it? I agree a glorified version of man is not the creator of the universe, especially one that suffers the same childishly immature emotions that plague mankind such as jealousy and vengeance.” – Challenger

My response, (Isn’t imagination more in tune with infinity) a logical fallacy as it is irrelevant to the accuracy of reality. To the question (What if reality is more perception than physical?) No, as there is no universal state of all human perception equally, perception is fluid reality is not. So no reality is not simply perception. And, to the question (Could it be collective consciousness that created the universe) Again, no there is reality consistent outside human perceptions including collective, “whatever that means” or otherwise and if reality was due only to perceptions collective, whatever it would be fluid and as it is not that can’t remove them as invalid.