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	<title>Comments on: Is atheism compatible with belief in evolution?</title>
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	<link>http://www.anthonysmith.me.uk/2009/02/03/is-atheism-compatible-with-belief-in-evolution/</link>
	<description>Ceci n&#039;est pas un blog</description>
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		<title>By: Steven Carr</title>
		<link>http://www.anthonysmith.me.uk/2009/02/03/is-atheism-compatible-with-belief-in-evolution/comment-page-1/#comment-14510</link>
		<dc:creator>Steven Carr</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:14:12 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>&#039;But then, so the suggestion goes, it is unlikely that our cognitive faculties are reliable, given the conjunction of naturalism with the proposition that we and our cognitive faculties have come to be by way of natural selection winnowing random genetic variation.&#039;

Unlikely?

You mean the chances of a species getting big brains is billions to one against?

We know that already. There have been billions of species.

So why is evolution defeated by a prediction of evolution being true?

Name a species and it is unlikely to win the lottery of life.


Homo sapiens have won the lottery of life.

And Plantinga&#039;s claim that we have no reason to believe something if it is &#039;unlikely&#039; is exactly like claiming lottery winners have no reason to believe they have won the lottery, even as they count their winnings, because the chances are very small that any named person will win the lottery.

Plantinga goes for the famous lottery fallacy.

For person 1 , it is unreasonable to believe he will win the lottery, as the chances are 14 millions to 1 against.

For person 2 , it is unreasonable to believe he will win the lottery, as the chances are 14 millions to 1 against.


For person 3 , it is unreasonable to believe he  will win the lottery, as the chances are 14 millions to 1 against.
.....


For person 14 million , it is unreasonable to believe he will win the lottery, as the chances are 14 millions to 1 against.

So we have 14 million people, and for every single person it is
unreasonable to believe they will win the lottery, as it is 14 million to one against their numbers being chosen.

Therefore, it is unreasonable to believe anybody will win the lottery.

This is a well-known fallacy.

Plantinga, of course, teaches both that he has reliable cognitive faculties and that there exist demons highly motivated to attack his senses and reasoning and perfectly capable of doing so.

This is very contradictory, although I think Plantinga&#039;s arguments often betray the malevolent effects of these demons upon his reasoning......

So Plantinga&#039;s world view suffers from thevery  problem his fallactious argument against naturalism tries to show.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>'But then, so the suggestion goes, it is unlikely that our cognitive faculties are reliable, given the conjunction of naturalism with the proposition that we and our cognitive faculties have come to be by way of natural selection winnowing random genetic variation.'</p>
<p>Unlikely?</p>
<p>You mean the chances of a species getting big brains is billions to one against?</p>
<p>We know that already. There have been billions of species.</p>
<p>So why is evolution defeated by a prediction of evolution being true?</p>
<p>Name a species and it is unlikely to win the lottery of life.</p>
<p>Homo sapiens have won the lottery of life.</p>
<p>And Plantinga's claim that we have no reason to believe something if it is 'unlikely' is exactly like claiming lottery winners have no reason to believe they have won the lottery, even as they count their winnings, because the chances are very small that any named person will win the lottery.</p>
<p>Plantinga goes for the famous lottery fallacy.</p>
<p>For person 1 , it is unreasonable to believe he will win the lottery, as the chances are 14 millions to 1 against.</p>
<p>For person 2 , it is unreasonable to believe he will win the lottery, as the chances are 14 millions to 1 against.</p>
<p>For person 3 , it is unreasonable to believe he  will win the lottery, as the chances are 14 millions to 1 against.<br />
.....</p>
<p>For person 14 million , it is unreasonable to believe he will win the lottery, as the chances are 14 millions to 1 against.</p>
<p>So we have 14 million people, and for every single person it is<br />
unreasonable to believe they will win the lottery, as it is 14 million to one against their numbers being chosen.</p>
<p>Therefore, it is unreasonable to believe anybody will win the lottery.</p>
<p>This is a well-known fallacy.</p>
<p>Plantinga, of course, teaches both that he has reliable cognitive faculties and that there exist demons highly motivated to attack his senses and reasoning and perfectly capable of doing so.</p>
<p>This is very contradictory, although I think Plantinga's arguments often betray the malevolent effects of these demons upon his reasoning......</p>
<p>So Plantinga's world view suffers from thevery  problem his fallactious argument against naturalism tries to show.</p>
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