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Quote by Raymond M. Smullyan

“Well, Humpty Dumpty is one of the keenest arguers I know... he almost had me convinced that I had no valid reason to be sure that I was awake... It took me about three hours, but I finally convinced him that I must be awake, and so he conceded that I had won the argument. And then--." The King did not finish his sentence and stood lost in thought. "And then what?" asked Alice. "And then I woke up!" said the King, a bit sheepishly.”

Quote by Raymond M. Smullyan

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Alice in Puzzle-Land

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Raymond M. Smullyan

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“The materialistic atheist can’t have laws of logic. He believes that everything that exists is material—part of the physical world. But laws of logic are not physical. You can’t stub your toe on a law of logic. Laws of logic cannot exist in the atheist’s world, yet he uses them to try to reason. This is inconsistent. [...] The atheist’s view cannot be rational because he uses things (laws of logic) that cannot exist according to his profession. The debate over the existence of God is a bit like a debate over the existence of air.3 Can you imagine someone arguing that air doesn’t actually exist? He would offer seemingly excellent “proofs” against the existence of air, while simultaneously breathing air and expecting that we can hear his words as the sound is transmitted through the air. In order for us to hear and understand his claim, it would have to be wrong. Likewise, the atheist, in arguing that God does not exist must use laws of logic that only make sense if God does exist. In order for his argument to make sense, it would have to be wrong.”

“There is a time and place to use good judgment. Using common sense is wise. Having discernment is imperative. No doubt about it, our analytical skills can help us to identify and define problems. Our logical minds can assist us to find realistic solutions. Finding balance with our logic and our intuition is essential.”