Dead/ Alive/Yet to be born ...............there is no real difference.

"Listen treeless , the vast majority of our lives composes of 'walks to the supermarket'. What do I need and what can I get. To deny this is to look childish. Read the poem Ozymandias by Shelly, where the concept is explored further." Certainly a great part of the human life is based on "what do I need and what can I get" as Pro states. The obvious point that Pro fails to see is that people have different needs and desires and make diverse choices that are significantly different from one another. This is what it means to be an individual. If there are significant differences between individuals, then Pro's resolution is refuted based on A2. Essentially what Pro is stating is that "because humans are human, they can only be human", but the conclusion that all humans are thus the "same" or "have no significant difference" does not follow. "You appear to totally focus on the material offered to you by your opponent and then you mould it as if it were malleable." That is the nature of a rebuttal, yes. As to if I am totally focused on it is another issue, as I have had very few material to work with thus far. "If I give you a can of beans you will have enough material for a lifetime, treeless." If those can of beans are what you are smoking, then perhaps I might be interested. On the other hand, if it is the source of your rather childish condescending tone, I suggest you toss it for your own benefit. "Are you saying in this that there is a reason to attach difference to past/present/future in this. If you are then surely the future is 'where its at'." Progression marks a difference, be it a negative progress or a positive one. Each experience is different and unique. My argument is not that people have not made progress in the past. Rather, progress for each individual means something significantly different. It does not matter if "A" from the past shared some similar sentiments from "B" in the present. Because there is always "C" that had a significant difference to them. To reiterate, Pro's resolution is refuted if two people are significantly different regardless of their temporal state, as Pro's resolution is that all people, regardless of their temporal states, have no significant differences. "Hitler and Ghandi, dressed each day, Hitler walked his dog and Ghandi liked to walk. The individual moments of their lives are historical but they are also as real as you putting on your clothes today. Someone is getting dressed and walking their dog tomorrow.." Here, Pro repeats once more that people partake in mundane daily to daily activities and thus are entirely similar individuals with no capacity for a significant difference. This is a mere blanket statement that at best only shows that Ghandi and Hitler both partook in human behaviors, though I need not express once more that their lives were significantly different in individual values and experiences. "There is a serious disconnect in all this that allows the conscious present (of which we are part)to remove ourselves from the fact that the past and future are as real as we are, without any significant difference." Certainly the past is real, it exists, it is the foundation of the present, as to how it has no significant difference to the present and future (and how those living in them have no difference) is an entirely different question that you have answered with the barest of assertions. "We would not differentiate in our analysis of life based on time but we would rather consider trend, pattern and likely progression. This is an entirely different debate, and I am not suggesting that people ignore the past or historical trends, when considering the future. "The curve appears regular and predicatable enough for us to be able to shape a definite future now." If the future can be different from the present or the past, then Pro refutes his own resolution. "We are talking about peoples lives here as I said." And I never stated anything contrary to this. My arguments revolve around people being significantly different.