Intelligent design, creationism, and fundamentalism: a reply to Randal Rauser
June 17, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 8 Comments
Randal Rauser has posted my contribution to his “Why they don’t believe” series, along with his response. Here’s my response to his response:

Let’s talk about violent pornography
June 13, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 53 Comments
This is a post that came out of not knowing quite what to say when a certain topic comes up on the internet. I’ve been meaning to write it for months… and perhaps not surprisingly, I’ve been struggling to figure out what to say. But here it goes.

God or Godless: a review
June 12, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 6 Comments
When I asked Randal for a review copy God or Godless, I expected to be frustrated by his arguments. I didn’t expect to be frustrated by the format of the book–but that’s what happened.

Why I’m not quite a consequentialist (a reply to Scott)
June 9, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 21 Comments
Via this post, Scott Alexander has alerted me to the fact that he’s not only the author of a non-libertarian FAQ, but also the author of a consequentialist FAQ. I can’t believe I wasn’t aware of it before, but now I’m going to write a response. Let me start by saying that I agree with [...]
I need a good editor
June 8, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 2 Comments
After considering publishing under Patheos’ imprint, I have decided to go the self-publishing/indie publishing route for my current book project. This means hiring freelancers, among other things finding a good editor.

In support of Ron Lindsay, and against Richard Carrier’s disingenuous attack
June 7, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 92 Comments
So apparently there’s a huge kerfluffle over Ron Lindsay’s opening remarks at CFI’s Women in Secularism 2 conference. At first I avoided reading anything about it out of a desire to not waste time on drama; then I decided read the text of Lindsay’s speech.

I am very smart and it isn’t fair (to other people)
June 4, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 26 Comments
Ben Bernanke just gave a speech denouncing meritocracy. This is a good opportunity for me to make a point I’ve been meaning to make about the genetics of intelligence ever since the thread on Star Trek and human enhancement.

Ethicists who matter
June 4, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 9 Comments
If I ever become a philosophy professor, there’s a good chance that at some point I will have to teach a class on ethics, because classes on ethics are in much higher demand than classes on most other areas of philosophy. And if I do that, I think I might seriously consider seeing if I [...]

Bermúdez’ Cognitive Science (a review)
June 3, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 1 Comment
I’ve long had people tell me I should take a class on cognitive science, from my undergrad philosophy of mind prof to, more recently, various MIRI/LessWrong folks. But I’m out of school and very likely will never take a cognitive science class, so I decided to do the next best thing and pickup a textbook [...]
June open thread: deconversion tactics and a blog intro page
June 1, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 18 Comments
Sorry I haven’t been blogging much lately. I’ve gotten quite busy with other things, but I plan on forcing myself to blog more next week. Until then, here’s your June open thread.

Why no alien radio signals?
May 28, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 37 Comments
On plausible assumptions, the universe should be teeming with intelligent life, so where are they all? The folks behind SETI have responded by going out and looking for it by scanning radio signals, but so far the search has turned up nothing. Could there be a Great Filter at work? Or do the aliens just have better technology?

Fisking the Sermon on the Mount
May 27, 2013 By Chris Hallquist 30 Comments
“Fisking” is a term I used to see a lot on the internet, which sadly seems to have fallen out of use. It means a point-by-point critique, and they can be a real joy to read. Today, I give you a fisking of the Sermon on the Mount.






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