Showing posts with label Atheism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Atheism. Show all posts
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
The default position and the burden of proof
A variety of claims are circulating the internet (and no doubt elsewhere) regarding the title of this post. Michael Shermer claims that skepticism (as an approach to claims) is the default position, so we'll take him at his word and skeptically evaluate his claim. Other atheists, such as George Smith, claim that lack of belief in gods is more akin to a factory default setting for the human brain:
"If the religionist is bothered by the moral implications of calling the uninformed child an atheist, the fault lies with these moral implications, not with the definition of atheism. Recognizing this child as an atheist is a major step in removing the moral stigma attached to atheism, because it forces the theist to either abandon his stereotypes of atheism or to extend them where they are patently absurd." (George Smith, Atheism: The Case Against God)
In future posts, I will take a few chops at these claims to see what's underneath.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Richard Dawkins and lovers of wisdom
During a recent debate, Richard Dawkins said that asking why things exist is a meaningless 'silly question.' Many folks are up in arms about this, but what exactly is so novel about this attitude? Ever hear of the verification principle? Haven't these questions been declared invalid ("mental discomfort") or else incoherent in some way long before Dawkins? Maybe I'm missing something...wouldn't be the first time.
Related note: there is a paper on my desk by Dr. Michael Sudduth entitled, "Is Human Language Adequate to Talk About God?" At this point, a full examination of his paper wouldn't be very fruitful; but regardless, reading over papers like this helps me get a sense of things before deciding where to dive in. At some point maybe I'll blog on my approach to tackling complex arenas outside of academia. It's not perfect, but works well with my hectic life which currently consists of: working (business analyst/software consultant), adjusting to married life (almost 5 months now!), appreciating and playing music, reading, writing (a little), and of course trying to reflect on it all.
Anyways, here is another video with Dawkins expanding on his silly question theme a bit more:
Related note: there is a paper on my desk by Dr. Michael Sudduth entitled, "Is Human Language Adequate to Talk About God?" At this point, a full examination of his paper wouldn't be very fruitful; but regardless, reading over papers like this helps me get a sense of things before deciding where to dive in. At some point maybe I'll blog on my approach to tackling complex arenas outside of academia. It's not perfect, but works well with my hectic life which currently consists of: working (business analyst/software consultant), adjusting to married life (almost 5 months now!), appreciating and playing music, reading, writing (a little), and of course trying to reflect on it all.
Anyways, here is another video with Dawkins expanding on his silly question theme a bit more:
