So how do you guys identify politically/philosophically?

[PresidentEden]

I suppose this will probably also enter the realm of religious belief as well, so if you want to include that go ahead.

I'm a libertarian anarchist and an ignostic that very much rejects the notion of supernatural events/deities/etc. The moral foundation, at its core, is really simple and easy to identify with -- cooperation and voluntary interaction good, coercion and violence bad -- and yet it seems that very, very few people actually extend basic principles of individual autonomy and freedom from coercion to its logical end. Since I'm slowly becoming more active on this site I'm wondering if anyone comes close to identifying along these lines.

An advisory note: While discussion is certainly encouraged in here, commentary very much needs to remain focused on the IDEAS, not the PEOPLE. It should be standard practice, but it's still worth a reminder in a thread about philosophical beliefs that the ideas are the subject, not the people delivering them.

[Knight]

I come up with new philosophies everyday, and with so many variables, it's hard for me to come up with my true philosophy. I am agnostic, I believe it is not my place to judge whether a deity exists or not, and that it is not my place to judge what other people believe as well. I don't think we, as humans, have actually come up with a political system that works, and it will probably be beyond our lifetime before we perfect the art of government. And as for the meaning of life, I don't think we have gotten there yet, or we have but just don't know it or can prove it.

[PresidentEden]

I imagine my thoughts on the "perfect" form of government are pretty easy to distinguish ;)

Curious what you mean by it being "not your place to judge whether a deity exists or not." Do you just feel you don't know enough to make the call, that the question itself is outside man's ability to answer, or some combination of the two (or something else)?

[Tamanoir]

I think saying thee is no God is as stupid as saying that there is one. We'll probably never know, anyway (not as long as we live anyway...)

It's just that I don't need God in my life. As long as nobody try to convert me (no matter the side), I don' really care.

So, I could be considered an atheist, but prefer agnostic, because I certainly can't affirm anything.

In fact, I am pretty disappointed by many believers who doesn't really act their beliefs...

I think I may call myself humanist. Even if there is a God, the world is now in our hands anyway. So we better do ourbest to makes it a better place. (Then, acting for that is harder obviously).

I think that the most important thing in someone's life is to be open-minded, and accept (even seek) to learn new things. that's what I can't understand extremists, and I don't really want. They're really scaring me.

[PresidentEden]

Stupid seems harsh. Is it equally stupid to say unicorns exist as it is to say they don't? (This is not necessarily meant to compare a hypothetical god to a unicorn, though I find the comparison humorous.) And for the record, agnosticism and atheism are separate concepts -- you can be both. Atheists don't state that they know God doesn't exist, but rather that they don't believe God exists. I've yet to meet an atheist who was not also an agnostic; and I'd even go so far as to say that identifying as one without the other is logically incoherent.

Agreed about both humanism and open-mindedness, the world seriously lacks both.

[Tamanoir]

Stupid seems harsh. Is it equally stupid to say unicorns exist as it is to say they don't? (This is not necessarily meant to compare a hypothetical god to a unicorn, though I find the comparison humorous.) And for the record, agnosticism and atheism are separate concepts -- you can be both. Atheists don't state that they know God doesn't exist, but rather that they don't believe God exists. I've yet to meet an atheist who was not also an agnostic; and I'd even go so far as to say that identifying as one without the other is logically incoherent.

Agreed about both humanism and open-mindedness, the world seriously lacks both.

Stupid was harsh, yes...

Well, I'm more an atheist, but I try to stay open-minded.

I think that's one of the main reason to live.

Knowing that there is still a lot of things to discover... that really makes me excited

[Knight]

I just don't think I should judge a topic with not strong enough evidence to support or deny.

[Nayr Farros]

I'm kind of a libertarian myself. I have Christian beliefs but am pretty liberal with them. I know the scriptures were written by man and not by God Himself, so there's a world of room for error. So I try to go by the instincts I was given by God. I suppose you could also say I'm kinda cynical about the world in general. Corruption is everywhere -- in the government, in the medical system, in the educational system, in the church, everywhere. Nobody really does things the way they say/should do.

Politically, I'm Independent and anti-partisan. Party politics, in my opinion are responsible for the sad shape the US is in today. Different parties have radically different beliefs and are unwilling to compromise for the benefit of the American people. It's like the government is at war with itself, when they're supposed to be on the same side. And the fact that the American people have become so indoctrinated by it and are pretty evenly split between them(though democrats are gaining an edge) ensures that the Red and Blue parties will always be dominant. Meaning eventually this country is going to fall apart because they cant pick a direction and stick with it.

Edited March 3, 2013 by Nayr Farros

[Marcell]

I fancy myself a libertarian, in the sense that I don't believe in prohibiting an individual from making their own choices unless it's for a good reason. The "good reason" part is pretty vague, and I'm still trying to work out the details of it (and I likely never completely will) but it's true.

And as for politics.... Ha. Ha. That is all.

[Esau of Isaac]

Stupid was harsh, yes...

Well, I'm more an atheist, but I try to stay open-minded.

I think that's one of the main reason to live.

Knowing that there is still a lot of things to discover... that really makes me excited

To emphasize what PresidentEden said, atheism and agnosticism are not mutually exclusive terms. You can possibly be an agnostic theist or an agnostic atheist. Agnosticism does not stand as the neutral, "middle" area on a scale between lack of belief and strong belief. It is merely the viewpoint that the presence of a God is either currently or inherently unknowable, not whether you personally vest belief in one.

[Narga_Rocks]

I know the scriptures were written by man and not by God Himself, so there's a world of room for error.

I love this belief because it makes me lol hard. God can create an entire universe but He can't manage to influence 40 or so men to write what He wants them to write. Completely logical. Totally.

Edited March 4, 2013 by Narga_Rocks

[Constable Reggie]

I identify as agnostic myself. I hold the notion that belief will never help me. When religion failed me, I got rid of my belief of Christianity from my life. Replacing that with another belief just doesn't seem right. Hence, agnostic. I couldn't give two shits if a god existed or not.

As for politics, I'm independent, but hold libertarian beliefs, so I hold distinct opinions for and against aspects on both sides of the political spectrum.

I love this belief because it makes me lol hard. God can create an entire universe but He can't manage to influence 40 or so men to write what He wants them to write. Completely logical. Totally.

You're just trying to start something aren't you.

Edited March 4, 2013 by Constable Reggie

[Rewjeo]

I love this belief because it makes me lol hard. God can create an entire universe but He can't manage to influence 40 or so men to write what He wants them to write. Completely logical. Totally.

There's a difference between can't and won't, for whatever reasons you may choose to believe.

[Esau of Isaac]

I identify as agnostic myself. I hold the notion that belief will never help me. When religion failed me, I got rid of my belief of Christianity from my life. Replacing that with another belief just doesn't seem right. Hence, agnostic. I couldn't give two shits if a god existed or not.

However, you either believe or do not. Being ambivalent to a strong belief either way doesn't change the presence or lack of belief.

[Narga_Rocks]

There's a difference between can't and won't, for whatever reasons you may choose to believe.

But he claimed to have Christian beliefs, implying, most likely, he believes God came down and died for us. Or at least, if he doesn't believe that I'd really rather he didn't call himself a believer in Christianity. In any case, believing that God can't be bothered to write a book but He can be bothered to come down and die for us just seems odd.

Edited March 4, 2013 by Narga_Rocks

[Iridium]

I don't care who's running the country, and I don't care who's running the world, as long as they don't make a point of getting in my way.

In spite of this, both do, and unless one of them changes I'm neither pledging nor praying.

[Excellen Browning]

I love this belief because it makes me lol hard. God can create an entire universe but He can't manage to influence 40 or so men to write what He wants them to write. Completely logical. Totally.

It's even so bad God has by now tried a full 3 times (maybe more, that we haven't noticed), if we are to believe the Q'uran.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Daigoji Excellen

[Thunderfox]

Politically, I'm Independent and anti-partisan. Party politics, in my opinion are responsible for the sad shape the US is in today. Different parties have radically different beliefs and are unwilling to compromise for the benefit of the American people. It's like the government is at war with itself, when they're supposed to be on the same side. And the fact that the American people have become so indoctrinated by it and are pretty evenly split between them(though democrats are gaining an edge) ensures that the Red and Blue parties will always be dominant. Meaning eventually this country is going to fall apart because they cant pick a direction and stick with it.

Typical ameri-centerism. These isn't directed at you but the whole anti-party politics thing seems to especially prevalent in the US, not to say there aren't Canadian-anarchists or Europeans tired of Parties. Still most countries do just fine with Political parties. Perhaps its the system and not the parties themselves?

Edited March 6, 2013 by Thunderfox

[Parrhesia]

I vote Labour, mostly because I fucking despise the Coalition.

[Phoenix Wright]

Socialist.

Agnostic atheist. Leaning towards the slang term "apatheist," because I really have become uninterested in any discussions regarding religion. I simply don't care...

Philosophically, I share many of the beliefs you'd expect a scientist to have, really. This, of course, is extremely ambiguous, so I guess I can say that I value observation, evidence, and scientific scrutiny.

Specifically, I find no issues with induction as long as the premises are provided via deduction. I disagree with Hume heavily here.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Phoenix Wright

[Samias]

I'm pretty conservative when it comes to how tax dollars are spent and how revenue is collected from corporations. I respect the corporation as a solid employer that brings a lot of overall prosperity. But that said I still believe in social safety nets like health care benefits and welfare, but I still vote Conservatives anyway because I have felt a lot of tangible benefit from them being in office (for example their Economic Action Plan funded my school's facilities which are now world class). I've lived comfortably my whole life so I feel disconnected from a lot of typical social issues and have a hard time identifying with anyone particularly anti-establishment, because the establishment has given me many benefits. However I also live in a society that already has health care provided through taxes, and also has legalized gay marriage. Generally the Conservatives in Canada are downright progressive compared to Republicans in the States, who I could never vote for. I also have much more of a problem with our provincial government if anything because what they do has a much more direct and wasteful effects, like reversing our HST back to GST+PST.

As for religion I'd probably call myself agnostic. People should be free to believe what they want. I don't really like to see people attack the religion of others. However I find that some people use their religion to espouse terrible beliefs, and I just can't stand those kinds of people. So while I personally don't follow any religious doctrine I do get disgusted at the people who wave around their religion to promote bigotry.

So I guess I'm anti-bigot but pro-economy, but not libertarian because I expect the government to have some sort of safety net paid for through the taxes they collect. Sadly there isn't really any political party that encompass my own beliefs in their entirety, and I suppose it will always be that way so long as the majority of people running governments are tired old men.

[Tamanoir]

To emphasize what PresidentEden said, atheism and agnosticism are not mutually exclusive terms. You can possibly be an agnostic theist or an agnostic atheist. Agnosticism does not stand as the neutral, "middle" area on a scale between lack of belief and strong belief. It is merely the viewpoint that the presence of a God is either currently or inherently unknowable, not whether you personally vest belief in one.

Well, I'm an agnostic atheist. I don't really believe in any God, and thinks that it doesn't influence my life.

I'm sure you can't live without beliefs. Being Atheist doesn't mean you don't have any morals, or don't believe in Democraty, Humanism.

Science can also be a beliefs, if you thinks that's all that control the world.

There may be things that Science can't explain, mainly because Humans are fallible.

Once again, I want to believe that Humans can be great, and do great things. Seeing random act of kindness, without any expectation, just because we're both humans is a wonderful thing.

I am also somewhat disappointed by certain christians, who doesn't really follows God's way.

If you think that your beliefs makes you a good person, and decides to help other, I will be the first to approve you.

(Martin Luther King was just a man, but his beliefs leads to great thins, for example)

What I hate above else is hypocrisy.

Using religion to abuse others, or to throw away any responsibility, or to consider you as superior is obviously wrong.

(Same goes obviously for atheist.

This dosn't makes me a pure being of reasons, nor does it makes me a heretic unable to see the Light of the Lord)

The other things I absolutely hate is abusing the trust of others. This is just evil.

About Politics... I do believe that even if they do everything for the peoples, they are pretty limited.

It's an incredibly hard and long work, if you're trying to do it right, and everyone will complain anyway.

So, I do think that most do what they think is the best for their country, but I don't expect miracles for them.

[Espinosa]

But he claimed to have Christian beliefs, implying, most likely, he believes God came down and died for us. Or at least, if he doesn't believe that I'd really rather he didn't call himself a believer in Christianity. In any case, believing that God can't be bothered to write a book but He can be bothered to come down and die for us just seems odd.

You can believe that and still remain indifferent to the implications of the redemption or even choose to oppose Christ. The question of God and the Divine is also far more complicated than the average secular thinker can imagine.

But addressing that point alone, gnosis ≠ faith

[Sublime Manic]

Self-described gaytheist. I'm gay, and I'm atheist (with some agnostic principles: I think there can be things unfathomable to us). Politically, I lean to the left by quite a large margin, primarily because of social issues. Kinda into socialism. Philosophically, I'm quite attracted to Albert Camus, but a lot of my personal philosophical beliefs revolve around the concept of catharsis.

[Excellen Browning]

Self-described gaytheist. I'm gay, and I'm atheist (with some agnostic principles: I think there can be things unfathomable to us). Politically, I lean to the left by quite a large margin, primarily because of social issues. Kinda into socialism. Philosophically, I'm quite attracted to Albert Camus, but a lot of my personal philosophical beliefs revolve around the concept of catharsis.

How does you being homosexual have anything to do with your political ideas?