The Strange Idea that What Happens Has to be Made to Happen

[Laird]

Very interesting, thanks for that, Sci, although unfortunately I lost concentration in places. Still, I'd say my sympathies lie with the guy who asked the first "question" (really a long comment): that, based on an argument or ideas that don't seem compelling or that at least have rejoinders, RT may have too readily dismissed the notion of God as ultimate explanation.

[Laird]

P.S. I was kind of expecting the talk to get into the sort of territory you and I (and others) have argued with Paul about: the idea that "necessary" causation is not... well, necessary!... especially when it comes to an agent's free will. I expected that "being made to happen" was RT's way of saying "necessitated" - but those sort of ideas didn't seem to be covered in the talk after all. Oh well, not to worry.

There's an essay in one of his books that gets a bit more into the causality question, will see if I can dig up which one. 

But yeah I've never been convinced by Tallis' arguments for atheism, they don't seem very compelling from what I recall.