Grifter730

This has been helpful, thanks to everyone that responded. One last question... I might just be misunderstanding your post, but does it mean that you don't believe in the existence of something infinite? So what do you think is beyond the universe, and beyond that? And beyond the end of that?

Very helpful, thank you! Don't worry, I'm not suicidal It was a question for research purposes.

First of all, thanks for the replies. Second, let's just forget about "religion" in this question. I really don't care what the Christian view of God is, or any other religion for that matter. I lumped God in with other "unknowns" because I'm mainly asking about the objectivism view on what's perceived as possible as opposed to what's possible in our current perceived reality. I said I had a hard time explaining my question, because I guess my brain's just muddled with this whole issue in the first place. Let's say that in this question, the "God" I'm talking about is a being that is omniscient (of human thoughts and world events), that can change/affect our world through his doing. Whether or not this God was created by something else is irrelevant to the question. With that in mind... See, this is a part that I don't get. What makes God's existence to be a contradictory concept, whereas the existence of a "quadruped with a volitional, conceptual consciousness" to exist is simply unknown? Why is God's existence not simply "unknown" as well? We already know that there are things that other creatures can do that are beyond human capabilities; cheetahs are able to run faster, birds are able to fly, bats can hear frequencies that humans can't, etc. So why is an omniscient powerful being's existence impossible? Isn't it possible for a being like this to exist and that the human mind just can't comprehend it, much like a cockroach can't comprehend the full extent of human capabilities? Or do objectivists merely reject certain religions, and not so much the idea of a (much) more powerful being? I think you're misunderstanding what I said. I said that just because we can't perceive something, it doesn't mean that it can't exist. And I'm not claiming that God exists at all. That's completely irrelevant to this whole topic. I'm asking about whether objectivists believe the existence of God is possible. My opinions are irrelevant to this topic, I'm merely here to ask questions and get insights into the objectivist belief.

*** Mod's note: Merged with an earlier thread. - sN *** Quick question on the topic of suicide. I realize this has probably been debated many times, but I'm not here to debate things, I'm simply inquiring on the objectivist view. I'm wondering, if life is the ultimate value because it makes all other values possible, what then happens when a person wants to end his/her life? Does that mean that a true objectivist will never commit suicide? Any insights would be helpful. Thanks.

Hi all, I've been reading up on objectivism just out of curiosity, and I've got a question that I'm hoping can be answered, but it's one that I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to ask/explain. Please note that I'm not trying to debate anything, I'm simply asking and trying to get an answer from an objectivist point of view. I'm not trying to state things as either right or wrong, I'm simply stating my knowledge, as well as asking for your point of view. From what I understand, objectivism sees the existence of God (and other mystical things that are unknown) as illogical. Part of the reason is that God or other unknowns require proof and other logical explanations. So my question is, do objectivists believe that there is absolutely no way that a God or any other unknown can possibly exist? Or do objectivists believe that a God CAN exist, but that as far as they know (and deduct through reason/logic), one does not exist? What's hard for me to grasp is the fact that human beings, like everything else, have limitations -- limitations which may include our perception of things. Humans are aware as much as humans are capable of being aware, but this does not by logic just mean that something does not exist just because we aren't aware of it. If I'm correct, that's actually a belief of objectivism right? That a snake is a snake regardless of whether someone sees it or not. By that nature, back when humans had never seen a snake, if one were to say "I believe that a creature exists that has no legs", would that mean that at that time, he was wrong from an objectivist point of view (because it was illogical at the time)? I guess what I have a really hard time accepting is, how can objectivists 100% completely rule out the possibility that something greater than us could possibly exist? Could aliens with greater powers than humans not exists? After all, we exist, we're human beings, we are what we are. A dog is a dog. If a person can exist, if a dog can exist, if a tree can exist, then why is it that something that we do not have an understanding of can't exist? I think that's really at the heart of my question. I see a lot of "hate" (for lack of a better word) thrown at people with religious beliefs by objectivists. I'm just trying to understand why. Sorry for the long ramble, but I do look forward to the responses.