Category Archives: science

Rule by Good Men

Posted on September 29, 2009 by David Hume

Since Heather’s post on Karen Armstrong I’ve heard her a lot on the radio hawking her new book, The Case for God. From what I can gather her arguments are mostly relevant to religious people; those of us who are … Continue reading →

Posted in science | Tagged | 4 Comments

Eat That Apple!

Posted on September 20, 2009 by Andrew Stuttaford

Stanley Fish is not normally my favorite commentator, but his New York Times piece on curiosity today is well worth a look: …There is another tradition in which, far from being the guarantor of a better future, curiosity is a vice … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy, science | Tagged | 8 Comments

We are all special (some more so)

Posted on August 30, 2009 by David Hume

Andrew’s post got me to thinking about inter-individual differences. I’ve had many religious friends who claim that if they didn’t believe in God they would happily rape & murder. Though frankly I have a tendency to keep my distance when … Continue reading →

Posted in science | Tagged | 10 Comments

An atheist who favors Intelligent Design?

Posted on August 28, 2009 by David Hume

Over the past few days I’ve followed a slight controversy involving Intelligent Design proponent Michael Behe & John McWhorter (you can see the posts at ScienceBlogs, Michael Behe speaks on bloggingheads.tv affair, John McWhorter & Michael Behe bloggingheads.tv, 2 and … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, science | Tagged , | 45 Comments

Much Ado

Posted on August 16, 2009 by Bradlaugh

I have responded to some of the comments on my Friday post "There Ain’t No Nothin’," putting the responses in a comment (#29). I’m never quite sure what should be a comment and what should be a posting and will … Continue reading →

Posted in science, Science & Faith | 4 Comments

There Ain’t No Nothin’

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Bradlaugh

This is very striking. It is a curious thing that we find ourself saying similar things about the material world at both its largest and its smallest scales. The thing we find ourself saying here is: “There is no such … Continue reading →

Posted in science, Science & Faith | 35 Comments

More on Collins

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Interesting comment thread on the Collins appointment. Just a few. P.Z. Myers bitterly attacks Kenneth Miller, who has provided expert testimony against “Intelligent Design” in court, as a “creationist.” Perhaps Myers does so attack Miller somewhere, but in a posting this morning … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics, science, Science & Faith | 17 Comments

Francis Collins Tossed and Gored

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Bigfoot atheist Sam Harris lays into Francis Collins, the new NIH Director, here. It’s a considerably expanded version (7,570 words vs. 953) of an Op-Ed Harris did for the New York Times.

Posted in science, Science & Faith | 37 Comments

Althouse’ rule on sex-differences in action

Posted on June 25, 2009 by David Hume

A few years ago Ann Althouse told Bob Wright that there was an easy way to do sex-differences research without being pilloried: make sure that the generalizations work out so that they are flatter women. Over at Feministing, Are Women … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, science | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Social science & engineering

Posted on June 17, 2009 by David Hume

A recent Bloggingheads.tv featured two philosophers, and was titled “Explaining and Appraising Moral Intuition”. A considerable proportion of the discussion involved the utility of cognitive and evolutionary psychology in probing the reflexive roots of our moral intuitions, and how that … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, economics, philosophy, science, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments