Philosophy

Taxonomy of Psychoactive Drugs
Psychoactive drugs include depressants, marijuana, hallucinogens, stimulants, and inhalants.

Depressants
Alcohol causes depression, nausea, and decreased alertness. When it is consistently consumed in large amounts, it can lead to malnutrition, fetal alcohol syndrome, mental disorders, liver damage, and brain damage. After withdrawal, an alcoholic may experience hallucinations, irregular heart rates, disorientation, anxiety, shaking/tremors, nausea, diarrhea, seizures, or heart failure.
Statistics:
Barbiturates cause poor coordination, slurred speech, and decreased alertness. One who uses barbiturates on a regular basis may be sleepy, irritable, and confused. A habitual barbiturates user, upon withdrawal, may experience convulsions, nausea, breathing difficulty, insomnia, hallucinations, tremors, and even death.
Tranquilizers cause blurred vision, dizziness, slurred speech, drowsiness, headache, and skin rash, and long-term sideeffects are blood and liver disease. A person withdrawing from tranquilizers will be anxious and nauseous, and have cramps and diarrhea.
Narcotics include opium (from the poppy plant), codeine, morphine, and heroin. A narcotics user may be nauseous, less alert, and drowsy, and may hallucinate. Long-term use can cause constipation, temporary sterility and impotence, convulsions, coma, and death. Withdrawal symptoms are watery eyes, runny nose, yawning, decreased appetite, irritability, tremors, panic, chills and sweating, cramps, and nausea.

Marijuana, including hashish, cause panic, anxiety, and vomiting. Habitual marijuana use causes lung cancer, bronchitis, respiratory tract irritation, and possible fetal damage. A person withdrawing from marijuana will be irritable and restless. They will have trouble sleeping, lose weight, and have a decreased appetite.

Hallucinogens
include LSD (acid), psilocybin (a hallucinogenic compound, C₁₂H₁₇N₂O₄P, obtained from the mushroom Psilocybe mexicana), mescaline, and PCP.

Stimulants
Amphetamines
Cocaine
Nicotine

Inhalants

Personal Liberty?

Drugs: Conclusion

In biology, taxonomy is the classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships. The main basis for classification is morphological and physiological similarities between species, although _______________. Carolus Linnaeus, an 18th-century Swedish botanist, devised the system of binomial nomenclature used for naming species.

Bioclade: a group of lifeforms descended from a single event of life origin

Domain

Kingdom

Phylum

Subphylum

Superclass

Class

Subclass

Order

Infraorder

Superfamily

Family

Genus

Species

Subspecies

Victimless Behaviors?
Alcohol-->Alcoholism-->Bad influences-->Domestic Violence-->Deaths by drunk driving-->Grieving relatives of victims-->Possible loss of parents if victims have kids

Adultery-->Separation-->Divorce-->Financial Disputes-->Traumatized children

Nicotine-->Addiction-->Secondhand smoking-->Bad influences-->Lung cancer-->Chemotherapy-->Early death-->Grief

More details and behaviors coming soon

Coming Soon: Examinations of:
1. Table: Conservatism vs. Liberalism
2. Taxonomy of false political ideologies
3. Christology
4. Theistic and atheistic arguments
5. Virtue Philosophy
6. Logic and Proofs
7. Shapes
8. Cults
9. Physiology
10. Evolutionism vs. Creationism
11. Biological Taxonomy
12. Taxonomy of false theologies
13. Works and Individuals that have influenced and persuaded me
14. Intelligence Quotient and Famous Geniuses
15. How to have a good attitude in Sports
16. Mathematical operations
17. Long words
18. Exercise
19. Nutrition
20. Iraq War
21. More theological definitions
22. Phobias
23. Animal extremes - life span, size, strength, sleeping patterns
24. Categorical Links
25. Music - genres
26. Drugs
27. Stem Cells
28. Ecology
29. Israel/Palestine
30. Unanswered Questions - logical v. "satisfying" answers, not having answer does not entail lack of answer, not having answer does not entail falsification of belief
31. Biblical Accuracy
32. Miracles
33. Calvinism
34. Premillenialism, Postmillenialism, Amillenialism
35. Fred Phelps
36. Mormonism
37. Jehovah's Witnesses
38. Time Travel
39. Unification Church
40. more categories to be added sooon

Cryptozoology is the study of creatures whose existence has not been substantiated. Alleged cryptozoological phenomena include, but are not limited to, Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, Mokele-mbembe, Kasai rex, Bunyip, Yeti, Kongamoto, Napes, Jersey Devil, Chupacabra, and the Hodag.

Unfortunately, the existence of such monsters is not supported by credible evidence, although it would be cool. Searches for these monsters should be abandoned, because it is a waste of time. Convincing the gullible of these hoaxes is a sin, and the gullible should try to become less gullible.

Bigfoot is an apelike creature said to stand 7-10 feet tall, weigh over 500 lbs., and leave 17-inch tracks.
-There is little evidence supporting belief in the survival of a large prehistoric apelike biped. The chief evidence is testimony from Bigfoot enthusiasts, footprints of dubious origin, and pictures that could easily have been of apes or humans in ape suits. There are other kinds of evidence that would substantiate the existence of Bigfoot. However, there are no bones, no scat, no artifacts, no dead bodies, no mothers with babies, no adolescents, and no fur. There are large discrepancies in shape and size between footprints, suggesting that they are fakes. It is common knowledge within the film industry that the shaky Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film showing a "one-ton" 6'6" bipedal apelike creature with swinging, furry breasts features a man in an ape suit made by John Chambers (costume designer, Planet of the Apes, 1968.)

Mokele-mbembe, an alleged living sauropod dinosaur now living in the Likouala swamp region of the Republic of Congo (Zaire), is a hoax. Not even a single carcass, bone fragment, or fossil of this creature has been found. Such large dinosaurs, if living on the land which covers only 29% of the Earth's surface and is not miles deep like the ocean, would have been discovered by now. The "Chan" photograph of an alleged sauropod in a river, if not a total digital fabrication, probably shows an elephant.

The Yeren, an alleged apeman 5-6 feet tall covered in reddish hair that leaves large footprints, may be a mainland orangutan or some other species. It could also be a hoax, and convincing photographs or a specimen would be necessary for it to achieve any credibility.

Kasai Rex

Blue tigers. No credible evidence for the existence of such creatures has been provided. There are no pictures or carcasses, etc...

Bunyip

Yeti

Kongamoto, a supposed living pterodactyl

Napes, North American apes

Jersey Devil

Chupacabra

Hodag

The speed of light in a vacuum is exactly 299,792,458 meters per second, or 1,079,252,849 kilometers per hour for all observers. Alternatively, light (electromagnetic radiation) travels exactly 670616629.5 miles through space every hour. The speed of light is denoted by c.
Faster than light?
It is possible for the group velocity of light to exceed c. One experiment made the group velocity of laser beams travel for extremely short distances through caesium atoms at 300 times c (89,937,737,400 meters per second/55884719.12 miles per second/201,184,988,800 mph), but it is not possible to use this technique to transfer information faster than c. Although experiments indicate that the phase velocity of evanescent waves may exceed c; it seems that neither the group velocity nor the front velocity exceed c; hence, it is not possible for information to be transmitted faster than c.
A common topic in science fiction is the ability to communicate or travel faster-than-light, also known as superluminal communication. Physicists have propsed particles that travel faster than light, called tachyons, but such particles have yet to be observed.

Planck's constant

Gravitational Constant

Electronic Charge

Strong Coupling Constant

Electroweak Coupling Constant
Electromagnetic Coupling Constant or Fine Structure Constant
Weak Coupling Constant

Rest Masses

Cosmological Constant

Thermodynamics
Laws of Thermodynamics
Entropy
Temperature Extremes
0K is absolute zero, the temperature at which all matter stops moving. Lab workers have achieved an amazingly low temperature of 250 pK (picoKelvin), but absolute zero will never be reached in a lab.

Shortly after the Big Bang, the temperature of the expanding universe was 1,000,000,000,000K/____C/________F.

Stars are massive gaseous bodies in outer space which generate energy by nuclear fusion and emit light. The effect of Earth's atmosphere causes stars to appear to twinkle. The Sun is the only star close enough to Earth to appear spherical and to provide daylight. The sun provides energy for photosynthetic processes by producers, which are the foundation of the pyramid of food energy in biology.

There are 70 sextillion (70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) stars in the observable universe based on galaxycounts and star estimates. The galaxy we live in, the Milky Way, contains 300 billion stars, 1/230,000,000,000 of the stars in the observable universe.

Star types include
Brown dwarfs

Red dwarfs

Mid-sized stars


White Dwarfs

Black dwarfs

Neutron stars


Red supergiants are supergiant stars of the spectral type M.
The orange-red Betelgeuse, a red supergiant with a surface temperature of 3,600 Kelvin, has a diameter of 1,448,409,600 miles.

Blue supergiants are supergiant stars belonging to the spectral type O. These rare, bright, and extremely massive and short-lived stars can only be found in young cosmicm structures like open clusters, spiral arms, and in irregular galaxies. They are not observed in such old cosmic structures as spiral galaxy cores, elliptical galaxies, or globular clusters.
Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation of Orion, is more than 20 times massive than the Sun and emits more light than 60,000 suns combined.

Stellar Evolution:
Starting out as a giant molecular cloud, the mass then becomes a protostar as it forms into a spherical rotating object. Brown dwarfs are small protostars that never reach temperatures high enough for the process of nuclear fusion to start. ......... If a mid-sized star is not massive, it will become ____. A star with high mass __________. If the star has is supermassive, it will explode in a supernova or even hypernova after _______ years. The supernova may become a neutron star, or may even result in a black hole . It is not known for sure whether stars may skip the supernova stage to become a black hole, or if there are supernovae which then form black holes.

Source: Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Universe]
1 The Big Bang and matter formation
- The universe began 13.7 billion years ago in the Big Bang. The chaotic inflationary, oscillating, eternal universe, multiverse, vacuum fluctuation, and quantum gravity models are false.
1.1 The Primordial Age - from 0 years to 300,000 years
1.1.1 The Planck Epoch: 10^-43 seconds
1.1.2 The Inflationary Epoch: 10^-37 seconds
1.1.3 The Grand Unification Epoch: 10^-35 seconds
1.1.4 The Electroweak Epoch: 10^-12 seconds
1.1.5 The Hadron Epoch: 10^-6 seconds
1.1.6 The Lepton Epoch: 1 second
1.1.7 The Epoch of Nucleosynthesis: 3 minutes
1.1.8 The Reionization Epoch: 300,000 years

2 Galaxy and star formation
2.1 The Stelliferous Age - from 10^6 to 10^14 years
2.1.1 The Matter Domination Epoch: 500,000 years
2.1.2 The Galaxy/Star formation Epoch: Between 100,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 years
2.1.3 Formation of the Solar System: 9,100,000,000 years
2.1.4 Present Time: 13,700,000,000 years (according to NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe project (WMAP))
- At this point the universe is 13.7 billion years old and 27.4 billion light years in diameter. The edge of the cosmic light horizon is 13.7 billion light years from Earth. The present distance (comoving distance) to the edge of the observable universe is larger because the universe has been expanding; it is estimated to be about 78 billion light years. Therefore, the comoving volume of the known universe is equal to about 1.9 x 10^33 cubic light years, based on the assumption that the universe is perfectly spherica. The observable universe contains about 70 sextillion (70 x 10^22) stars, organized in about 10 billion galaxies, which themselves form clusters and superclusters.
2.1.5 End of the Stelliferous Age: 100,000,000,000,000 years

3 Near-term future of the Universe - different scenarios
3.1 The Big Rip
3.2 The Heat death of the Universe
3.3 The Big Crunch

4 Long-term future for a long-lived Universe
4.1 The Degenerate Age - from 10^14 to 10^40 years
4.1.1 Galaxy and Star Formation Ceases: 10^14 years
4.1.2 Planet are Flung from Orbits: 10^15 years
4.1.3 Stars are Flung from Orbits: 10^16 years
4.1.4 An estimated 1/2 of Protons Decay: 10^36 years
4.1.5 All Protons Decay: 10^40 years

4.2 The Black Hole Age - from 10^40 years to 10^100 years
4.2.1 Black Holes Dominate: 10^40 years
4.2.2 Black Holes Disintegrate: 10^100 years

5 Ultimate fate for a long-lived Universe
5.1 The Dark Age - from 10^100 years until 10^150 years
5.1.1 All Black Holes now Disintegrated: 10^150 years

5.2 The Photon Age - from 10^150 years until the Distant Future
5.2.1 The Universe Achieves Low-Energy State: 10^1000 years and beyond

As usual, more definitions, alternative uses, units, and examples will be added over time.

Eternity a complete linear continuum of instances; in other words it is time without beginning or end; infinite time.

An Exasecond is 32 billion years. One exasecond exceeds the age of the universe by 18.3 billion years.

Eon, or Aeon, is the largest unit of geologic time. Normally it has no exact numerical value, but it sometimes refers to a period of 1,000,000,000 years. The first eon on Earth was the Hadean. It lasted from 4.55 billion years ago (when planet Earth formed) to 3.8 billion years ago. No known organisms lived during the Hadean eon. The Hadean was followed by the Archaean eon, which lasted from 3.8 billion years ago to 2.5 billion years ago, and was superseded by the proterozoic which stretched from 2.5 to .570 billion years ago. Starting .570 billion years ago was the Phanerozoic eon which continues to today.

Eras comprise eons. The Phanerozoic eon is divided into the Paleozoic (570 mya - 245 mya), the Mesozoic (245 mya - 66 mya), and the current era in which we live is the Cenozoic, which began 66 million years ago.

A period is a time span of millions of years that are assumed to have had similar characteristics.

Epoch

Millenium

Century

Decade

Year

Season

Quarter

Month

A Fortnight is two weeks/14 days/336 hours.

A Week is 7 days/168 hours.

A Day is 24 hours.

Hour

Minute

In terms of atomic time, a Second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom at zero kelvins. It is most commonly thought of as 1/60 of a minute, 1/3600 of an hour, and 1/86400 of a day.

AYoctosecond, the smallest measurable unit of time, is one septillionth of a second/10^-24 seconds/0.000000000000000000000001 seconds. The symbol for yoctosecond is ys.

Planck's time is the duration required for light to travel Planck length (approximately 1.616 x 10^-35 meters). Planck's time is about 5.39 x 10^-44 seconds All measurements below Planck's time are nonsensical and quantum laws are in control.

This is part four of a series in which varies political and governmental systems will be defined and analyzed. It will take a while to be completed.

Socialism says that the state should protect civil liberties, regulate unequal private economic association, provide social insurance, and monopolize certain industries and resources. However, socialism fails because it violates property rights and rights of free economic association. By imposing poor regulations and collectives, economic prosperity is impaired.

Synarchy

Technocracy

Thalassocracy

Theocracy is the unity of religion and government. Many theocracies today are corrupt and do not reflect the values that would be taught by a maximally great God.

Timocracy

Totalitarianism

Tyranny

Welfare Statism

Marxism, the political and economic philosophy developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is the concept that human actions and institutions are economically determined and that class struggle is needed to create historical change and that "oppressive" capitalism will be superseded by a socialist and ultimately classless society.

Marxism-Leninism

Matriarchy is rule by mothers or women.

Military Junta is rule by a group of military officers country after they seize power.

Monarchy - Absolute & Constitutional

Nazism is the political ideology of Adolf Hitler, a man of great evil who oversaw the murder of over 20,900,000 people under the Nazi Third Reich between 1933 and 1945. Hitler supported abortion, capital punishment, censorship, Christianity, eugenics, euthanasia, genocide, gun control, and racial purity. Hitler opposed atheism, capitalism, communism, democracy, feminism, Freemasonry, feminism, homosexuality, Jews, miscegeneration, nudism, pacifism, Poles, Slavs, and smoking. Nazism is a stupid ideology and Neo-Nazis need to straighten themselves out.

Ochlocracy is government by mobs. Ochlocracy violates personal liberty by unlimited coercion, unfair treatment, and torture by strong persons. It violates personal security by freely allowing robbery and assassination.

Oligarchy is rule by few.

Panarchy is universal rule.

Plantocracy is government by plantation owners.

Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy.

Populism

Pornocracy is government by prostitutes.

Ethnocracy is government by a particular ethnic group, whereas the ethnicity of the governing officials is irrelevant and their competence is what is important.

Fascism

Gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by a small clique of leaders, in which the oldest hold the most power.

Gynarchy is rule by women.

Gynocracy

Hierocracy

Kakistocracy is government by the worst citizens, and is obviously not even rational to consider as a viable political philosophy.

Kleptocracy is rule by thieves.

Krytocracy is rule by judges.

Liberalism usually advocates the following policies:
1. Right to abortion of viable fetuses.
Abortion
- The right to have an abortion is often abused. Pregnancy is in fact rarely caused by rape or incest. Therefore it is up to sexually active couples who don't want children to use contraception, including teenagers. Many (though not all) teenagers are not emotionally ready to have a sexual relationship, much less be responsible for children, which is especially difficult if they wish to continue their school career. If pregnancy has not been prevented, then there is the option to allow the baby to by adopted by responsible couples who may choose adoption because of fertility problems or other reasons. The repulsive process of abortion is both physically and emotionally dangerous for the mother.
2. The policy of inflating the money supply risks higher inflation.
3. Tax 40-70% of high incomes and wealthy estates.
4. Ban discrimination in economic association
5. Oppose mandatory balanced budgets
6. Maximum hours
7. Gay Marriage.
- Many people have a misunderstanding of homosexuality. Contrary to popular belief, much less than 10% of the general population is gay. The true figure is closer to 2-3%. Despite the rarity of homosexuals, 1/3 of pedophiles are gay. The Human Genome Project found no gay gene; homosexuality is not genetic, but is a behavior pattern that can be abandoned. Homosexuality is perhaps caused by childhood influences. It is tough to find a homosexual who did not experience the traumatic intense rejection, molestation, or the shock of an precocious sexual experience. If homosexuality were someday proven to be genetically caused, "inborn" does not mean normal or "moral."
- Because marriage is a privilege and not a right, the state must have a standard for issuing marriage licenses. Granting same-sex couples the right to marry devalues true marriage between a man and a woman. Male and female bodies complement each other and are meant to come together for purposes of procreation and expression of true love. Intimate sexual activity is more orderly and socially accountable when marriage is limited to being between a man and a woman. Homosexual sex is dangerous and destructive to the human body, causing such STDs as syphilis. Marriage of heterosexual couples promotes procreation and guarantees the benefits of child rearing by the distinct attributes of both father and mother. Thirty-seven states have already passed a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) stating that marriage is between a man and a woman, and for good reason. Christianity and many other religions concur that homosexuality is unnatural and morally wrong.
How can this issue be dealt with?
Hate crimes and violence are not the solution under any circumstances. Many solutions are being proposed, so if it concerns you, feel free to search the internet.
8. more coming soon

Libertarianism, at least in many of the political party's (Libertarian with a capital L) policies, is highly flawed.
1. Many Libertarians are pro-choice. (see Liberalism above).
2. Some want to abolish money and currency.
3. Many want to practice isolationism.
-This ignores the state's duty to avert and defend against foreign agression. A state also needs to regulate international trade, in addition to controlling annexations and secessions.
4. A number of Libertarians want immigration without regard for linguistic or economic proficiency.
5. Libertarians want to allow gay marriage.

_References and alphabetical or categorical organization coming soon_

Anarchism is the political philosophy which states that the state should not exist because there can be no coercion whatsoever. Anarchism fails to acknowledge that liberty sometimes needs to be violated in order for its practical protection. In an anarchist society, there would be no natural monopolies, unlimited coercion, no aid to the poor, and unlimited pollution of ecosystems and torture and extinction of organisms.

Anarcho-capitalism

Anarcho-socialism

Andrarchy is rule by men. Gender per se is not a determining factor in the success of governments in effecting justice, helping those in immediate danger, protecting species and ecosystems, preventing torture, regulating natural monopolies, and providing pure public goods.

Aristocracy is rule by rich, landowning elites.

Authoritarianism

Autocracy is government by one individual.

Communism, holding that the state should monopolize all capital, reduces economic prosperity by eliminating property rights. Over 108,700,000 individuals were killed by communist governments during the 20th century.

Communitarianism

Confederacy

Conservatism usually stands for the following policies:
1. Pro-lifeThe right of a viable fetus to have personhood.
2. Ban gay marriage.
3. Flat taxes
4. Judeo-Christian religious and moral values
- Examples [Reference: A Common Christian Confession]:
a) Defiant sin is worse than unintentional sin.
b) value & sanctity to human life
c) Refresh/encourage one another
d) We are to keep a clear conscience.
e) no immorality, idolatry, or greed
f) no murder, no adultery, no dishonesty
g) give generously, cheerfully, and according to our means
h) Faithfulness; living consistent with beliefs; no hypocrisy
i) no magic or occult, such as channeling, witchcraft,astral-projection,mediums,fortune-tellers,astrology,tarot cards,oujia boards, TM, EST, Qi-gong
j) no horoscopes, eastern or western astrology, luck, or superstitions
k) Be rich in good deeds and committed to doing good
l) Aid, care, protect, help, & don't cause harm to others
m) Be kind to people & animals
n) be hospitable to all
o) Don't be self-seeking or just look after own interests
p) Be civil, not rude
q) Don't even plan or think evil
r) No dissensions, jealousy, or quarreling
s) envy is unhealthy
t) Don’t covet fame or have selfish ambition
u) do not bear false witness or lie to each other
v) teach with integrity
w) no gossip or betrayal of confidence
x) no slander
y) We are responsible to watch our life & doctrine closely
z) sexual purity
1) no homosexuality
2) have modesty
3) aid the poor and the indigent
4) no racism or sexism
5) fair treatment of individuals
6) no laziness
7) comfort/encourage/honor
8) honor secular authority
9) persuade/correct/teach people
10) We demonstrate the Gospel with our lives, & not just share words
5.

Corporotacracy

Demarchy

Democracy
In direct democracy, people vote directly on laws, but this process is too slow despite being fair.
- Athens is considered a direct democracy, although it was not really a true democracy. There is no slavery in a true democracy, but there was slavery in Athens. Everyone is free and women are also granted suffrage.

In representative democracy, people vote for leaders who make laws. This process is just as fair as direct democracy and is much faster.

Despotism

There are varying beliefs within supernaturalism, which is the belief in a supernatural agency that intervenes in the course of natural laws.

Animism is the belief that all objects and phenomena have a soul. Animists worship their ancestors, are superstitious, and believe in magic. There are about 103 million animists in the world, mostly living in Africa.
- The definition of soul entails consciousness. Rocks and trees are unconscious entities, and therefore cannot have a soul. Thus, not all objects have souls. Superstition is untenable. Magic is no more than hoaxes and illusions. Animism should thus be rejected.

Theism is the belief that the universe is affected by supernatural agency. Between 87.6 to 92.2% of the world's population professes belief in God, deities or similarly understood Higher Power.

Polytheism is the belief in several gods who act on the world. Polytheistic religions include Hinduisim (900 million adherents), Shintoism (4 million adherents), and Taoism. _explanation of polytheistic religions under construction_, _refutation of polytheism under construction_

Monotheism is the belief in a revealed single personal Creator of the universe who is at the very least timeless, immaterial, uncaused, beginningless, changeless, spaceless, and enormously powerful and intelligent. This agent, God, is often considered omniscient, omnipotent, and [spiritually] omnipresent. Monotheistic religions include Christianity (2.1 billion adherents), Islam (1.3 billion followers), Sikhism, Zorastrianism, and Bahaism.

_religious definitions under construction_

Arguments for theism:
The existence of God is supported by the arguments from change {1}, efficient causality {2}, time and contingency {3}, degrees of perfection {4}, design {5}, Kalam cosmology {6}, contingency {7}, the world as an interacting whole {8}, miracles {9}, consciousness {10}, truth {11}, origin of the idea of God {12}, ontology {13}, morality {14}, conscience {15}, desire {16}, aesthetic experience {17}, religious experience {18}, and common consent {19}, as well as Pascal's Wager {20}. [Reference: Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli: Twenty Arguments For The Existence Of God]

_explanation and defense of premises under construction_

{1} under construction
{2} under construction
{3}
1. We notice around us things that come into being and go out of being. A tree, for example, grows from a tiny shoot, flowers brilliantly, then withers and dies.
2. Whatever comes into being or goes out of being does not have to be; nonbeing is a real possibility.
3. Suppose that nothing has to be; that is, that nonbeing is a real possibility for everything.
4. Then right now nothing would exist. For
5. If the universe began to exist, then all being must trace its origin to some past moment before which there existed—literally—nothing at all. But
6. From nothing nothing comes. So
7. The universe could not have begun.
8. But suppose the universe never began. Then, for the infinitely long duration of cosmic history, all being had the built—in possibility not to be. But
9. If in an infinite time that possibility was never realized, then it could not have been a real possibility at all. So
There must exist something which has to exist, which cannot not exist. This sort of being is called necessary.
Either this necessity belongs to the thing in itself or it is derived from another. If derived from another there must ultimately exist a being whose necessity is not derived, that is, an absolutely necessary being.
This absolutely necessary being is God.
{4} under construction
{5}
The universe displays a staggering amount of intelligibility, both within the things we observe and in the way these things relate to others outside themselves. That is to say: the way they exist and coexist display an intricately beautiful order and regularity that can fill even the most casual observer with wonder. It is the norm in nature for many different beings to work together to produce the same valuable end—for example, the organs in the body work for our life and health. [Refer to the argument from the world as an interacting whole.]
Either this intelligible order is the product of chance or of intelligent design.
Not chance.
Therefore the universe is the product of intelligent design.
Design comes only from a mind, a designer.
Therefore the universe is the product of an intelligent Designer.
{6} Kalam Cosmological Argument
1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause of
its existence.
2.The universe began to exist.
2.1 Argument based on the impossibility of
an actual infinite:
2.11 An actual infinite cannot exist.
2.12 An infinite temporal regress of events
is an actual infinite.
2.13 Therefore, an infinite temporal regress
of events cannot exist.
2.2 Argument based on the impossibility of the
formation of an actual infinite by
successive addition:
2.21 A collection formed by successive
addition cannot be actually infinite.
2.22 The temporal series of past events is
a collection formed by successive addition.
2.23 Therefore, the temporal series of past
events cannot be actually infinite.
2.3 Confirmation based on the expansion of
the universe.
2.4 Confirmation based on the thermodynamic
properties of the universe.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause of its
existence.
4. If the universe has a cause of its existence, then
an uncaused, personal Creator of the universe exists,
who sans creation is beginningless, changeless,
immaterial, timeless, spaceless, and enormously
powerful and intelligent.
4.1 Argument that the cause of the universe is a
personal Creator:
4.11 The universe was brought into being either
by a mechanically operating set of necessary and
sufficient conditions or by a personal, free agent.
4.12 The universe could not have been brought into
being by a mechanically operating set of necessary
and sufficient conditions.
4.13 Therefore, the universe was brought into being
by a personal, free agent.
4.2 Argument that the Creator sans creation
is uncaused, beginningless, changeless, immaterial,
timeless, spaceless, and enormously powerful and
intelligent:
4.21 The Creator is uncaused.
4.211 An infinite temporal regress of causes cannot
exist. (2.13, 2.23)
4.22 The Creator is beginningless.
4.221 Whatever is uncaused does not begin to
exist. (1)
4.23 The Creator is changeless.
4.231 An infinite temporal regress of changes
cannot exist. (2.13, 2.23)
4.24 The Creator is immaterial.
4.241 Whatever is material involves change on
the atomic and molecular levels, but the Creator
is changeless. (4.23)
4.25 The Creator is timeless.
4.251 In the complete absence of change, time does
not exist, and the Creator is changeless. (4.23)
4.26 The Creator is spaceless.
4.261 Whatever is immaterial and timeless cannot
be spatial, and the Creator is immaterial and
timeless (4.24, 4.25)
4.27 The Creator is enormously powerful.
4.271 He brought the universe into being out of
nothing. (3)
4.28 The Creator is enormously intelligent.
4.281 The initial conditions of the universe
involve incomprehensible fine-tuning that points
to intelligent design.
5. Therefore, an uncaused, personal Creator of the
universe exists, who sans creation is "beginningless,"
changeless, immaterial, timeless, spaceless, and
enormously powerful and intelligent.

-- William Lane Craig [http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/craig-smith1.html]

Atheists have proposed various rebuttals to the Kalam cosmological argument, all of which are intellectually unsatisfying.
- Physics, observations, and thermodynamics make the oscillating model of the universe impossible.
- The chaotic inflationary model has been debunked.
- Observation contradicts the claim posited by the vacuum fluctuation models that the universe emerged from a quantum vacuum by a fluctuation. It predicts a non-zero probability for a universe existing at every point in space-time in the quantum vacuum; therefore, in an eternal quantum vacuum, all of the spatiotemporal points would create universes, which would then collide and coalesce into an infinitely old universe, which contradicts observation from which it is inferred that the universe began about 13.7 billion years ago.
- Because the quantum gravity models all depend on the use of "imaginary time" prior to 10^-43 seconds after the Big Bang, they are non-physical solutions, and thus not realistic. Upon converting the numbers back to real time, the initial singularity reappears.

Because of the weakness of the alternative models for the origin of the universe, the Big Bang model of creation ex-nihilo (out of nothing) is still the most plausible theory.
{7}
If something exists, there must exist what it takes for that thing to exist.
The universe—the collection of beings in space and time—exists.
Therefore, there must exist what it takes for the universe to exist.
What it takes for the universe to exist cannot exist within the universe or be bounded by space and time.
Therefore, what it takes for the universe to exist must transcend both space and time.
{8} under construction
{9}
A miracle is an event whose only adequate explanation is the extraordinary and direct intervention of God.
There are numerous well-attested miracles.
Therefore, there are numerous events whose only adequate explanation is the extraordinary and direct intervention of God.
Therefore God exists.
{10} under construction
{11} under construction
{12}
We have ideas of many things.
These ideas must arise either from ourselves or from things outside us.
One of the ideas we have is the idea of God—an infinite, all-perfect being.
This idea could not have been caused by ourselves, because we know ourselves to be limited and imperfect, and no effect can be greater than its cause.
Therefore, the idea must have been caused by something outside us which has nothing less than the qualities contained in the idea of God.
But only God himself has those qualities.
Therefore God himself must be the cause of the idea we have of him.
Therefore God exists.
{13}
There is a possible world (W) in which there is a being (X) with maximal greatness.
But X is maximally great only if X has maximal excellence in every possible world.
Therefore X is maximally great only if X has omnipotence, omniscience and moral perfection in every possible world.
In W, the proposition "There is no omnipotent, omniscient, morally perfect being" would be impossible—that is, necessarily false.
But what is impossible does not vary from world to world.
Therefore, the proposition, "There is no omnipotent, omniscient, morally perfect being" is necessarily false in this actual world, too.
Therefore, there actually exists in this world, and must exist in every possible world, an omnipotent, omniscient, morally perfect being.
{14}
Real moral obligation is a fact. We are really, truly, objectively obligated to do good and avoid evil.
Either the atheistic view of reality is correct or the "religious" one.
But the atheistic one is incompatible with there being moral obligation.
Therefore the "religious" view of reality is correct.
{15} under construction
{16}
Every natural, innate desire in us corresponds to some real object that can satisfy that desire.
But there exists in us a desire which nothing in time, nothing on earth, no creature can satisfy.
Therefore there must exist something more than time, earth and creatures, which can satisfy this desire.
This something is what people call "God" and "life with God forever."
{17} under construction
{18}
Many people of different eras and of widely different cultures claim to have had an experience of the "divine."
It is inconceivable that so many people could have been so utterly wrong about the nature and content of their own experience.
Therefore, there exists a "divine" reality which many people of different eras and of widely different cultures have experienced.
{19}
Belief in God—that Being to whom reverence and worship are properly due—is common to almost all people of every era.
Either the vast majority of people have been wrong about this most profound element of their lives or they have not.
It is most plausible to believe that they have not.
Therefore it is most plausible to believe that God exists.
{20} If there is a God and you deny Him, then you are in trouble. If there is no god and you accept him, there is no problem because it doesn't matter, as personality would cease after death. The problem with Pascal's Wager is that it does not define which "god" to believe in since in many religions, believing in a different god brings a punishing judgment. Nevertheless, one should attempt to discover whether there is a God or not and who He might be. There are objective standards for evaluating a religious worldview: _under construction_ .

Eutheism is the belief in a benevolent God.
Maltheism is the belief in a petty and wicked Creator of the universe.
- Maltheists cite ________________ as evidence for an evil God, but these are unconvincing due to strong counter-arguments:

_under construction_

Henotheism is the belief in one God without denying the existence of others.
_reply under construction_

Pantheism is the belief that everything is God, i.e. God is the universe and the universe is God.
- The Kalam Cosmological Argument establishes the existence of a single personal Creator of the universe who is at the very least timeless, immaterial, uncaused, beginningless, changeless, spaceless, and enormously powerful and intelligent. God is by definition physically separate from the universe because He is its Creator, so pantheism is false.

Panentheism is the belief that God is greater than the universe and that the universe is contained within God. Pantheists believe the universe is God, while panentheists believe the universe is in God.
_reply under construction_

Hinduism
Definition
Hinduism is a polytheistic mystical religion started in the Indus Valley during the Vedic Age. It has no single founder and no single sacred text. Brahma, Vishnu, amd Shova are the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer, respectively. The objective of Hindu life is to be united with an all powerful, unchanging spiritual force--brahman--upon freeing oneself from selfish desires that separate them from this force. Hindus believe in reincarnation (the rebirth of the soul in another bodily form), and that all the actions of one's life can affect their fate in the next life, but that one should just accept the caste they are in (karma). Hindus believe in nonviolence and that one has religious and moral duties which vary according to caste (class), occupation, gender, or age.

Other Practices

_commentary_

Christianity (2.1 billion adherents)
Judaism (14 million adherents)
Islam (1.3 billion adherents)

(World Population: 6,520,100,250+)

Similarities
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all monotheistic fideist religions. {1} Each religion has a holy text that purportedly teaches God's revelation and plan for proper living. {2} Christianity, Judaism, and Islam each had a sort of "prophet": Jesus*, Moses, and Mohamed, respectively. Abram, later called Abraham, was the grandfather of all three religions. All three religions have an ethical code for believers to live by. Christians and Jews obey the Ten Commandments {3}, while Muslims follow Shari'a.

{1}
Christianity: God
Judaism: Yahweh
Islam: Allah
{2}
Christianity: The Bible (Old and New Testament)
Judaism: The Torah (Old Testament)
Islam: The Q'uran
{3}
Christian:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Hebrew:
1. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
2. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; And showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath in honour of the Lord thy God; on it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother; in order that thy days may be prolonged upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shall not commit adultery.
8. Thou shall not steal.
9. Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Differences
Theology
The God of Christianity sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to Earth to die on the cross as an infinite payment for the sins of humanity.

I myself was once a 9/11 conspiracy theorist, once even believing that 9/11 was a domestic conspiracy, but now I've come to reject all these theories as hysteria and nonsense. Most of these theories I automatically rejected as false (pod plane, windowless plane, no North Tower plane, Israeli conspiracy, faked phone calls), but I was gullible enough to believe such claims that the Twin Towers were brought down in a controlled demolition and that the Pentagon was not hit by a Boeing.

The following actions should have been carried out prior to 9/11:
a) canvassing flight schools for suspicious students, former students and current ones
b) conducting a nationwide manhunt for the two known terrorists who were already in the country (Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi)
c) double-checking passenger lists against terrorist suspects
d) upgrading airport passenger screening
e) hardening cockpit doors
f) putting air marshals on more flights (on 9/10/01 the U.S. had 32 air marshals, none of whom were deployed on domestic flights)
g) giving pilots tasers or handguns
h) patrolling the skies with fighter jets

I highly recommend the site Cooperative Research and the thoroughly researched, authoritative, comprehensive, and objective book The Complete 9/11 Timeline by Paul Thompson.

The following theories are false:
1. American Airlines Flight 77 N644AA, a Boeing 757, was not what hit the Pentagon on 9/11.
2. 9/11 was a Mossad conspiracy to frame Arabs.
3. The Twin Towers were blown up with explosives.
4. United Airlines Flight 175 N612UA, a Boeing 767 which hit the South Tower, had a missile pod on its underbelly.
5. The plane that hit the South Tower had no windows.
6. The victims' phone calls were faked.
7. A missile masked by a hologram, not the Boeing 767 American Airlines Flight 11 N334AA, hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Nontheism
- _definition and reply under construction_
Agnosticism

Soft Agnosticism is the belief that the existence or nonexistence of deities is currently unknown, but is not necessarily unknowable.
- reply under construction
Hard Agnosticism is the belief that one cannot know whether or not God exists.
- _reply under construction_

Atheism is _definition coming soon_ and is held by about 223 million people worldwide.
- Problem of evil
- "God" is meaningless
- Presumption of atheism
- Omnipotence problem
- Omniscience problem
- Moral autonomy
- Immortality
- _replies under construction_
Christian Thinktank, in the meantime, has an index of common objections, and its master topical index can be found here. There are tons of other sites that deal with these as well, which will be added.
Weak Atheism is the lack of belief in God, i.e. a weak atheist would say "I do not believe in God."
- reply under construction
Strong/Militant Atheism is the affirmative disbelief in God, i.e. a militant atheist would say "I believe there is no God."
- _strong atheist arguments and rebuttals under construction_

Atheists claim that the existence of evil is evidence against God, but there are several explanations for evil.
_reply to argument from evil under construction_
What about free will? How much evil should be stopped? Some evil can lead to the prevention of further evil, or it could be for the greater plan. Evil may exist for discipline and instruction, as the result of sin, to serve as a warning, to make a point, to allow sacrifice for as the demonstration of the greatest act of love, or we just don't know.

Anti-theism
- _reply under construction_

Naturalism us the doctrine of those who deny a supernatural agency in the miracles and revelations recorded in the Bible, and in spiritual influences.
Deism is the belief that God created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation.
_reply under construction_
Polydeism is the belief in multiple passive gods, which contrasts with the belief in a single passive God asserted by monodeism.
_reply under construction_
Pandeism is the belief God who created the universe and then became it.
_reply under construction_
Panendeism is the doctrine that all physical reality exists within God, and that God exists as the essence of all physical reality. Panendeism asserts that God first set the laws of "Process Evolution" in motion, allowing Its Creation to self-evolve in varying degrees of complete freedom; a never-ending process that is part of the fabric of physical reality and will continue as long as the universe continues to exist.
_reply under construction_

I am in the process of creating a theology entry which may or may not be part of a series. Topics covered include supernaturalism, animism, theism, pantheism, panentheism, polytheism, henotheism, monotheism, eutheism, maltheism, dualism, open theism, naturalism, deism, polydeism, monodeism, pandeism, panendeism, nontheism, agnosticism, soft agnosticism, hard agnosticism, atheism, weak atheism, strong/militant atheism, anti-theism, and theistic and atheistic arguments. There will be definitions and evaluations.

Name: Will Huysman, WRH
Interests: girls, the beach, sports, Christianity, fitness, music (rap, hip-hop, R&B, techno--I will add artists soon), ethics, politics, science, TV

Basketball: Grades 5,6,7,8,9
Cross Country: 9
Soccer: 7,8
Baseball: 5,6
Tennis: 7,8

Spanish Award: 7
English Award: 7
CCC Award by Eliot Spitzer: 8

Highest GPA: 98.181 (7) and 98.117 (7)

Religion: Christian
Theology: Eutheist
Politics: Conservative
Biology: Evolutionary Creationist
Economy: Capitalist
Axiology: Pietist/Extropianist
Metaphysics: Supernaturalist - but a methodological naturalist
Government: Constitutional federalist

My name is Will. I'm a Christian 9th grader and am very interested in philosophy, and have made this blog to communicate my thoughts on theology, axiology, logic, algebra, analysis, cosmology, mechanics, thermodynamics, relativity, chemistry, biology, anthropology, engineering, political science, archaeology, history, futuroloy, paranormality, religion, and ethics.

At this point I, for valid reasons which will be progressively outlined, disagree with: Adoptionism, alarmism, altruism, anarchism, anarcho-capitalism, anarcho-communism, anarcho-socialism, animism, anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, anti-theism, Apollonarianism, Arianism, aristocracy, Arminianism, Aryanism, asceticism, atheism, automatism, Bahaism, Buddhism, Calvinism, collectivism, communalism, communism, communitarianism, Confucianism, constructivism, conventionalism, corporotocracy, cynicism, deconstruction, deism (monodeism and polydeism), descriptivism, despotism, Docetism, dogmatism, dystheism, dystopianism, Ebionism, Eckankar, egoism, emotionalism, emotivism, epiphenomenalism, eudaimonism, Eutychianism, existentialism, fallibilism, fascism, fatalism, feminism, freemasonry, gerontocracy, Gnosticism, hedonism, henotheism, Hinduism, immoralism, irrationalism, Islam, isolationism, kakistocracy, kleptocracy, krytocracy, Jainism, Lamaism, legalism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Marcionism, maltheism, Mandaeanism, Marxism, Marxism-Leninism, materialism (ontological as opposed to methodological), meliorism, Mithraism, Modalism, monarchism, Monarchianism, Monophysitism, Monothelitism, Mormonism, Naturalism (metaphysical as opposed to methodological), Nazism, Neo-Confucianism, Nestorianism, nihilism, nominalism, nontheism, ochlocracy, paganism, pandeism, panendeism, panentheism, panpsychism, pantheism, pessimism, phenomenalism, physicalism, racism, Raelianism, Rastafarianism, reductionism, relativism, Rosicrucianism, Sabellianism, Satanism, scientism, Scientology, sensationalism, sexism, Shintoism, Sikhism, solipsism, stoicism, subjectivism, Sufism, superstition, Taoism, Tenrikyo, terrorism, timocracy, totalitarianism, tyranny, Unification church, universalism, utilitarianism, welfare statism, xenocentrism, Wiccanism, Yezidism, and Zoroastrianism.