Category Archives: Religion

Is Derek Parfit a Speculative Realist?

Posted on March 21, 2012 by

The term Speculative Realism designates an apparently new trend or movement within philosophy. The term is said to have been coined in 2006 by Ray Brassier1 in preparation for a conference held at Goldsmiths College, London, in April, 2007. Participants … Continue reading →

Posted in Arendt, Ethics, Morality, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Santa Claus: Myth or Lie?

Posted on December 24, 2011 by

At The Secular Outpost, Jeffery Jay Lowder has a brief blog piece about Tom Flynn, the Executive Director of the Council for Secular Humanism, and some of the reasons Flynn puts forth about why parents should not tell their children … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs, Literature, Religion | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

About ‘Militant Modern Atheism’ and Religion

Posted on October 7, 2011 by

Abstract: This essay first discusses the non-eliminable shortcomings (or vacuousness) found in the most vociferous versions of contemporary atheism as put forth in Philip Kitcher’s “Militant Modern Atheism”. The essay then proceeds to the problems which Kitcher’s preferred secular humanism … Continue reading →

Posted in Arendt, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Selves, Subjects, and Reductionism

Posted on September 9, 2011 by

In a recent blog entry, John Wilkins denounces the notion of an existent self saying, “Humans have an insistent need for illusions. … The most interesting illusion to me is that we have selves. It is quite obvious to me … Continue reading →

Posted in History and Philosophy of Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Tree of Life and The Way of Grace

Posted on August 9, 2011 by

Abstract. Terrence Malick’s movie, The Tree of Life, suggests a stark contrast between the way of nature and the way of grace. At first, this contrast – but especially its starkness – seems to set the context for a choice … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Religion | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Synthese Debacle and the Louisiana Legislature

Posted on May 28, 2011 by

Much has been written about how the editors of the philosophy journal, Synthese, botched the handling of objections which were raised about at least one or two of the articles in the Evolution and Its Rivals special issue (Volume 178, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs, Evolution, History and Philosophy of Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, Politics, Religion, Science | 2 Comments

More on Lutz, Laudan, and Demarcation

Posted on May 25, 2011 by

In On Lutz on Laudan and demarcation, Paul Newall notes that: In his (draft) paper On an Allegedly Essential Feature of Demarcation Criteria of Science, Sebastian Lutz claims that demarcation does not require a criterion that is both a necessary … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs, Evolution, History and Philosophy of Science, History of Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Politics, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Second Response to ‘The Politics of Demarcation’

Posted on May 3, 2011 by

Abstract. The most widely disseminated arguments against Intelligent Design have failed to produce invariant and objective demarcation criteria sufficient to establish that ID cannot be a matter of science. Ultimately, ID opponents rely heavily upon the fact of there being … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs, Evolution, Feyerabend, History and Philosophy of Science, History of Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, Politics, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

First Response to ‘The Politics of Demarcation’

Posted on April 29, 2011 by

Abstract: This is in response to The Politics of Demarcation, but the discussion here is largely limited to matters relating primarily to some assertions about whether demarcation is best regarded as a non-issue. In the comments section of this blog … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Affairs, Feyerabend, History and Philosophy of Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, Politics, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The politics of demarcation

Posted on April 28, 2011 by

Abstract: Is it better to have demarcation criteria that allow us to demarcate in practice rather than ones that are philosophically rigorous? This entry looks again at the demarcation problem and considers the criticism that philosophical treatments of it fail … Continue reading →

Posted in History and Philosophy of Science, History of Science, Philosophy of Science, Politics, Religion, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments