Atheists, can you prove to me that love and empathy exist?
How can you deny God but believe that abstract emotions exist?
Also, why do you believe the imagination exists if there is no scientific evidence for it?
40 comments
Love, empathy, and faith don't really exist. They are humans words placed on completely abstract ideas. They are imaginary lines that we draw around our own crazy little ideas. This in no way proves that your particular god exists.
Atheists, can you prove to me that love and empathy exist?
Yes. CAT scans have identified chemical/function changes in various parts of the Human brain in response to particular emotions (fear, hate, love, amusement, etc.). Currently real-time scans of the brain are being used to more accurately chart the effects of psychoactive medications (lithium, xanax, and so forth).
Also, why do you believe the imagination exists if there is no scientific evidence for it?
The very existence of science is the best proof for the reality of the Human imagination.
We can conclude that love and empathy exist in some form because we can describe them, I can say that I care deeply about my friends and family, regardless of that caring's source. Faith on the other hand is simply the belief in the existence of something for which there is no proof whatsoever. There is simply nothing even close to testable for 'God', so your comparison is meaningless.
Wait, aren't emotions perceivable in people feeling them? Can faith, love and and emotion not be observed in those who feel it?
Oh and the scientific evidence for the imagination is that people IMAGINE THINGS ALL THE TIME!
"You cannot simply say that they are a byproduct of chemical reactions in the brain because that is merely their physical effect on our bodies, not the true quintessence of what an emotion is."
Actually we can, because we actually accept reality instead of fantasy.
Oh, for the love of all that's squelchy...
Will you stop asking for proof of things you yourself cannot define? Go on, try it. Define love.
If you don't know where you want to go, you can't get there.
Well, yes, I can say such a thing
Atheists, can you prove to me that love and empathy exist?
- There IS proof for love. And it is empirical too. A mother putting her child before herself may have some 'survival of the species involved', but there is also the emotion which is felt by the mother that causes her to place the wellbeing of her child before herself, even at risk to her life. Fathers experience this too. It has nothing to do with religion or any faith.
Also, why do you believe the imagination exists if there is no scientific evidence for it?
- The existence of the imagination is readily demonstrable in the work of artists, composers, writers, etc. Again, it is empirical. Nor does it have anything to do with faith.
Actually, science has shown that love and empathy ARE chemical reactions in the brain, and are completely neurological. Do at least a little research, please, so you don't look so much like an asshat next time.
can you prove to me that love and empathy exist?
Love, empathy, and other emotions are products of pheromones, hormones, and physiological reactions. They can be mapped by MRIs, PET and CAT scans.
why do you believe the imagination exists if there is no scientific evidence for it?
Science is the child of imagination, born of those who wanted to know the right answers to questions, rather than GODDIDIT as a lame assed answer.
Implying you feel neither love nor empathy?
"There is NO proof for them."
Are fundies really this fucking stupid?
"You cannot simply say that they are a byproduct of chemical reactions in the brain"
And on a side note: we never said that FAITH doesn't exist. Faith exists allright, it's the thing you have faith in that doesn't.
"Atheists, can you prove to me that love and empathy exist?"
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0925492705001150
Christianists, can you prove to me your god exists? The bible does not constitute proof.
"Also, why do you believe the imagination exists if there is no scientific evidence for it? "
Millions of people insisting an imaginary spook really exists is proof enough of imagination for me.
Oh, Bear. I don't think you're arguing what you think you're arguing. I'm pretty sure that claiming God is nothing more than an abstract emotion or creative process of the mind is blasphemous.
I do agree with you-- the concepts of imagination and God are quite closely linked. Imagination is the only way your God exists.
It's easy to explain why you THINK there's a God.
Now you go ahead and prove why he's real.
Emotions are caused by thought. Thought can be analyzed, albeit not scientifically explained. God can't be scientifically explained either. HOWEVER, thought not being scientifically verifiable doesn't mean God exists.
"Atheists, can you prove to me that love and empathy exist?
We can detect and measure the bio-chemical reactions, as well as the brain wave patterns, when such emotions are felt.
That was easy. Next question...
Emotions are the products of discriminating reactions of the central nervous system to certain classes of external stimuli.
Fear, for example. Fear is what keeps you stapled to your god, cub. Admit it, why don't you?
You cannot simply say they are a byproduct of chemical reactions in the brain ...
Not only can I say it, I once wrote a song about it. (To be honest, nobody likes it much.)
I don't doubt that you feel faith, doesn't prove that god exists does it. And even if you proved some higher creator being, then you have to prove that it's your god and not Krishna, or whoever else.
Yes, I agree. It is quite difficult to prove that a person experiences love, empathy, or any other emotion.
What is quite easy, on the other hand, is to prove whether the target of this person's love exists or not.
And everybody agrees that there are cases of people who fell in love with an imaginary object. In a child, we call this "imaginary friend".
I never denied the existence of faith in god. I deny that the target of this faith exists. Or in other words: Religious faith is a delusion.
"You cannot simply say that they are a byproduct of chemical reactions in the brain because that is merely their physical effect on our bodies, not the true quintessence of what an emotion is."
No, they're the cause. And you didn't present any proof otherwise. But let's play by your rules and pretend that chemical reactions in the brain are the result of emotions. Measuring the chemical reactions in our brain will therefore allow us to know such emotions are happening, whereas the lack of reactions (the effect) would indicate the lack of emotion (the source).
And that's the problem with God. No matter how you twist yours and others' words, you can't present a relation between what you're trying to prove (God) and a clear effect that doesn't happen when the source is not acting (notGod)
So, yeah, you lose.
There is NO proof for them
Yes, there is. We can use brain imaging techniques like fMRI, we can measure hormonal changes, we can prove these things exist.
You cannot simply say that they are a byproduct of chemical reactions in the brain because that is merely their physical effect on our bodies, not the true quintessence of what an emotion is.
That's just a dodge.
why do you believe the imagination exists if there is no scientific evidence for it?
Cognito ergo sum, bitch.
empathy is demonstrated all the time.
love is demonstrated by actions.
emotions can be a survival trait. It can be shown what parts of the brain are active when specific emotions are occuring.
I can imagine hacking people to death with a sword. I dont have a sword and probably would not do more thn irritate an oponent. Again it can be shown what part of the brain is active when imagining something.
Faith does exist, stupid, it's what we call a feeling of believing without evidence. Love is also the name of a feeling, the feeling of your heart expanding with joy at the thought of someone or something. Empathy is a feeling of solidarity with other people. Neither love nor empathy feels abstract to me.
How can you deny Brahman and Shiva, but believe that God exists?
There is scientific evidence for imagination, it's what's gotten us this far. Without it we would still be huddling naked in caves, without fire and tools.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register . Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.
