In between other things, I've been doing reading elsewhere (mostly philosophy blogs) about the whole free will/determinism thing to help get my thoughts into a more coherent and structured form so I am not thinking it through as I am writing it. Have no fear -- the interest in the topic has not gone away!! ;-)

I saw the new group; I've been reading it. I just don't have anything to add that already hasn't been attacked/shot down/ignored or posted by others so I've stayed out of it. I'm learning that I don't argue well against dogmatism so I'm picking my battles better -- where I might have a chance of making a difference to somebody. Not necessarily my discussion partner(s) but anybody who might be watching. If what I do doesn't make it better for somebody, it's a waste of others' time.

I don't feel blocked out; I'm a big boy and left of my own accord. Doesn't mean I lost my interest; just the desire to participate.

I am talking about the note do Atheist beleive in an Afterlife, I understand their is a book by bruce greyson that documents 30 years of NDE research it is very weak but it should help

Hey I read your note on the afterlife and I am in the same position I want to beleif in life after death I want to beleif that my loved ones exist somewhere and I want to do it regardless of what the evidence tells me

Yep! I just got started yesterday. I got this site from Y!A. I liked the post that you...um..posted. lol

i dont graduate till may

Ha! Having just been to Rustys' page I saw your comment. I am sure I could give you some feedback! LOL!

Johnny,

I'm not sure if this is exactly what yer looking for, but cites specific research showing how accurate future violent behavior can be predicted based on an indivual's social development.

http://www.nida.nih.gov/DirReports/DirRep901/DirectorReport5.html

There is strong evidence from that feral children site too. Here's a cut and paste from that discussion:

http://www.feralchildren.com/en/index.php

It's hard to filter through the information, as much of it has to do with language development, physical development, etc.. I'd like to spend more time reading on this.

Here are some quotes from the nature/nurture debate resulting from research on feral children:

Nature versus nurture

Feral children ought to be an excellent source of evidence in the continuing nature-nurture debate. Feral children cannot walk, talk, or socialise: they cannot show empathy with others. Indeed, these poor creatures are so apparently sub-human that Linnaeus classified them as distinct from home sapiens.

Social behaviour

Quite simply, feral children are usually entirely unaware of the needs and desires and others. The concepts of morals, property and possessions are alien to them, and they can't show empathy with other people. If brought up by animals, they don't even identify themselves as human, but probably regard humans as "the enemy".


Here is another cut and paste from a discussion with free thinker:

"I worked with inner city youth for a while. These guys were all diagnosed with conduct disorder. I thought it was an unfair diagnosis, as conduct is the product of training. These kids were growing up in an environment inwhich success depended on the development of sociopathic behaviors. They learned to thrive in their environment. In other words, put some "good" kid in that environment and the "good" kid would be horribly unsuccessful."