How I Deconverted: It Started With Humean Skepticism

June 12, 2012 By 10 Comments

I have written a number of personal posts about what I was like before I deconverted and then how things went for me when I deconverted. There is more to say about both those periods, but it is time to start explaining how I deconverted. And, philosophically, that started with my discovery of David Hume. [...]

Filed Under: Epistemic Justification, Epistemic Justification, Epistemology, Epistemology, Evidence, Evidence, Personal, Philosophy 10 Comments

Criticizing Wicca: Magic is Unethical

January 7, 2012 By 16 Comments

[This is part of a series looking at atheism and Wicca.] Many Wiccans practice magic.  Skeptics, rationalists, and naturalists may all be tempted to try to use science to refute the effectiveness of magic.  Although such refutations do persuade some people, they often fail to accomplish anything: despite the best efforts of scientific debunkers, magical [...]

Filed Under: Atheism, Epistemic Justification, Ethics, Evidence, Featured, Intellectual Vices, Naturalism, Paganism, Philosophy, Pseudoscience, Rationalism, Religion and Science, Wicca 16 Comments

Criticizing Wicca: Magic is Unreliable

January 7, 2012 By 6 Comments

[This is part of a long series looking at atheism and Wicca.] Any procedure for changing an initial situation (the start) into a desired situation (the goal) can be tested for its effectiveness.   As used here, effectiveness is a matter of degree, so that procedures can be more or less effective.  The simplest way to measure [...]

Filed Under: Atheism, Epistemic Justification, Evidence, Featured, Naturalism, Paganism, Philosophy, Probability, Pseudoscience, Rationalism, Religion and Science, Skepticism, Wicca 6 Comments

Spiritual Exercises for Atheists

January 5, 2012 By 11 Comments

Spiritual exercises (askesis) are practical activities for mental self-empowerment.  They are intended to facilitate successful achievement by increasing the degree to which the self is mentally or emotionally prepared to perform.  Spiritual exercises are not magic.  Spiritual exercises are distinct from magic because they focus on causing changes in the self while magic focuses on [...]

Filed Under: Atheism, Evidence, Featured, Naturalism, Paganism, Philosophy, Psychology, Rationalism, Religion and Science, Wicca 11 Comments

Revelation versus Manifestation

December 30, 2011 By 5 Comments

This is a guest post by Eric Steinhart, Professor of Philosophy at William Paterson University. The Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are religions of revelation.  As is well-known, these religions are derived from the experiences of religiously privileged individuals (prophets, messiahs, inspired writers) to whom it is alleged that God spoke.  These religions say [...]

Filed Under: Atheism, Epistemic Justification, Evidence, Featured, Naturalism, Paganism, Philosophy, Rationalism, Religion and Science, Wicca 5 Comments

Criticizing Wicca: Levels

December 17, 2011 By 13 Comments

This is a guest post by Eric Steinhart, Professor of Philosophy at William Paterson University. Some statements are based on evidence, while others are not.  And there is evidence for the existence of some entity if and only if the existence of that entity is asserted in a statement that is based on evidence.  To [...]

Filed Under: Atheism, Epistemic Justification, Epistemology, Evidence, Metaphysics, Naturalism, Paganism, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Rationalism, Religion and Science, Science, Wicca 13 Comments

Do Atheists Worship Truth?

December 15, 2011 By 45 Comments

This is a guest post by Eric Steinhart, Professor of Philosophy at William Paterson University. Although many atheists seem hostile to metaphysics, that hostility is misplaced.  Any deep philosophical position is bound to presuppose some metaphysics.  Pure reason is also highly abstract.  Should pure reason be constrained by empirical evidence?   How?   All efforts to specify [...]

Filed Under: Atheism, Epistemic Justification, Epistemology, Evidence, Featured, Naturalism, Philosophy, Rationalism 45 Comments

If You Don’t Believe In Objective Values, Then Don’t Talk To Me About Objective Scientific Truth Either

November 27, 2011 By 111 Comments

I recently argued that when any of us act, we must act for reasons. When acting for reasons we must decide that the end we pursue is the best, most worthwhile, goal to pursue and that the action we take in order to achieve that goal is the most suitable one. I should also add [...]

Filed Under: Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Authority, Authority, Epistemic Justification, Epistemic Justification, Epistemology, Ethical Pluralism, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Ethics, Evidence, Evidence, Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, Intellectual Virtues, Metaethics, Morality, Morality, My Theory of Morality's Rational Foundations and Nature, Naturalistic Fallacy, Naturalistic Fallacy, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Science, Science, Science, Teleology, Teleology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 111 Comments

A Philosophical Polemic Against Moral Nihilism

November 18, 2011 By 31 Comments

Jesse is undeterred by my argument that at least some of our moralities (or elements of them) can be objectively defended even though the physical universe (taken as an entirety) does not care about them: Daniel– I haven’t gone deeply enough through the other posts you linked to, and I will — but I think [...]

Filed Under: Applied Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Epistemic Justification, Epistemic Justification, Epistemology, Epistemology, Ethical Pluralism, Ethical Pluralism, Ethics, Ethics, Evidence, Evidence, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Vices, Intellectual Virtues, Intellectual Virtues, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, My Theory of Morality's Rational Foundations and Nature, Nietzsche, Nietzsche, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy, Teleology, Teleology, Virtues, Virtues 31 Comments

John Shook: Proving God's Existence Is Impossible

November 17, 2011 By 14 Comments

This semester I have been teaching Philosophy of Religion using John Shook’s superbly thorough, systematic, incisive, and critical summation of the arguments for and against the existence of God, The God Debates: A 21st Century Guide for Atheists and Believers (and Everyone in Between). The book is impressive enough that I would give it the [...]

Filed Under: Arguments Against The Existence of God, Arguments Against The Existence of God, Arguments for the Existence of God, Arguments for the Existence of God, Atheism, Epistemic Justification, Epistemic Justification, Epistemology, Epistemology, Evidence, Evidence, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, Philosophy Of Religion 14 Comments