We’re now in the age of post-atheism, and not a moment too soon. The Utopia That Never Was If the study of science and history teaches us anything, it’s that everything has a lifespan. Organisms, species, and even civilizations originate, develop, thrive, and then die out. The universe itself will someday expire through heat death. So welcome to the age of post-atheism. In the aftermath of 9/11, atheism seemed like a great idea. The new millennium was supposed to represent... Read more
“I want to believe as many true things and as few false things as possible,” goes the motto of radio show host Matt Dillahunty. As critical thinkers, we need to ask whether this is a valid approach to truth. True and False It sounds to me like Dillahunty is making a simplistic distinction between true things and false things, as if claims either have some inherent property of trueness or they don’t. There’s no quickie litmus test for truth; the... Read more
Science is too important to our culture for us to idealize it, and it warrants our skepticism. Applying Skepticism to Science Critical thinking means applying skepticism not only to the things other people believe, but to things we consider important too. Science is the basis for the way we define life, the universe, and our history. So it’s important that we have a realistic view of science, the good and the bad. I’m not suggesting that we reject scientific theories... Read more
It’s ironic that the people who are loudest in denying that scientism exists are the best examples of scientism in action. Scientism isn’t just a word religious people made up to bait skeptics, it describes a real bias: that which claims that science is our only source of valid knowledge. Is there such a thing as scientism? In response to Humanist Magazine’s very reasonable discussion of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Rationalia tweet , a commenter took issue with the author’s... Read more
by Marc Schaus For anyone currently following the secular movements happening all over North America and the world at large – we have some important new developments to talk about. There have now been many (read: many) secular milestones of 2017 thus far, all over the world, yet there’s actually a chance that several of them could be news to you. And if you’re surfing this side of Patheos, probably good news. Depending on where you happen to get your... Read more
Inside Out, The People’s Art Project: A Global Art Project Transforming Messages of Personal Identity in Works of Art Let’s talk plaque psoriasis. If you don’t suffer from this devastating immune skin disease, you need to know that it raises scales of inflamed skin in unpredictable parts of the body with incessant irritability. An illness such as this, like any that changes our appearance in front of others, also changes how others may see us, or how we think others... Read more
Just as you lose yourself in astonishment, the anesthetic of familiarity will drag you back to the illusion of normal. Too bad. Read more
Caption: Trumpocchio Head of Donald Trump___________________________________________________________________ DONALD TRUMP is our first post-truth president. And he may well be the first of many. The Oxford Dictionaries website chose “post-truth” as its 2016 word of the year, in large part due to Trump’s success in the presidential election. It defined post-truth as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” (Incidentally, the 2015 word of the year... Read more
Yesterday, the Trump Administration reversed former President Obama’s federal extension of Title IX protections to trans teens in schools and they had help from Christians and Atheists. As a parent of a transgender teen, this hits close to home. I took the picture in this article at the Baltimore Convention Center. I was there at an Anime convention with my son. It was the first time either of us saw a gender neutral bathroom and we were both very happy. Last... Read more
Caption: Arguing people (Kick-ads, used with permission) Written by Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Intentional Insights Co-Founder and President. ________________________________________________________________ We frequently use debates to resolve different opinions about the truth. However, debates are not always the best course for figuring out the truth. In more emotionally charged situations, the technique of collaborative truth-seeking is often better. The Problem with Debates The usual method of hashing out disagreements in order to discover the truth about reality is through debates, in person or... Read more
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