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Monthly Archives: June 2009
Waiting for Coyne
Today I responded to biologist Jerry Coyne’s question, which he asked at his blog, about whether atheists should take theologians (or theological discussion) seriously. Here’s what I wrote: Professor Coyne: I’m an agnostic who (from my previous posts here) obviously has some intellectual … Continue reading
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Tagged agnostic, atheist, evolution, jerry coyne, philosophy, Prometheus Unbound, Reinhold Niebuhr, science, science v. religion, theology
3 Comments
Quote for the Week
Friedrich Nietzsche (from The Twilight of the Idols ): What is it: is man only a blunder of God, or God only a blunder of man?
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Tagged existentialism, Friedrich Nietzsche, God, Hinduism, Islam, Jesus, Judaism, Nietzsche, philosophy, religion, Richard Dawkins, the problem of evil
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Toaster Epistemology
An interesting article about the toaster and its meaning for art, philosophy, invisible-hand capitalism, and the universe here.
The Big Picture
If you’ve ever wondered how Rush Limbaugh and Fox News have attained such large followings via their daily dishing out of “thought terminating cliches” and oversimplifications, here’s part of the answer:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged citizens, Fox News, geography, history, illiteracy, life, Politics, religion, rush limbaugh, stupidity, thought terminating cliches, voting
3 Comments
Jazz Interlude
Louis Prima:
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Tagged 1960s, dance, jazz, jungle book, Las Vegas, louis prima, music, psychology
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Whence Nietzsche in Contemporary Atheist Reflection?
Philosopher John Gray sees it only in Michel Onfray: Among contemporary anti-religious polemicists, only the French writer Michel Onfray has taken Nietzsche as his point of departure. In some ways, Onfray’s In Defence of Atheism [titled in its U.S. edition as … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged existentialism, Friedrich Nietzsche, John Gray, michel onfray, philosophy, propaganda, psychology, public relations, sales
2 Comments
Thomas Jefferson’s Second Birth, and the Intersections of Apollo and Dionysus
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? (John 3:4 KJV) I love this portrait of Thomas Jefferson. In good Neoclassical … Continue reading
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Tagged alpha male, alpha males, Apollo, Apollo and Dionysus, apollo v. dionysus, beavers, birth, born again, Dionysus, Jesus, life, Thomas Jefferson
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Evolution v. Creation Watch: What are Goose Bumps for?
It turns out that goose bumps are an evolutionary holdover from when we had fur. Here’s Harvard’s Steven Pinker: Our own bodies are riddled with quirks that no competent engineer would have planned but that disclose a history of trial-and-error … Continue reading
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Tagged biology, Charles Darwin, creation, evolution, Genesis, goosebumps, life, reason, science, steven pinker, Thomas Jefferson, young earth creationism
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O Brave New World!
This month’s Wired is reporting on a shocking scientific finding: A self-assembling molecule synthesized in a laboratory may resemble the earliest form of information-carrying biological material, a transitional stage between lifeless chemicals and the complex genetic architectures of life. Called … Continue reading
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Tagged biochemistry, biology, Charles Darwin, chemistry, creation, creationism, dr. frankenstein, evolution, Genesis, life, origins of life, science
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Quote of the Day: Robert Lifton on the “thought terminating cliche”
Thought terminating cliches? You know, like the ones that Americans hear weekly from Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. Here’s the psychologist Robert Lifton, from his book, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism : “The language of the totalist environment is characterized by … Continue reading
Michael Jackson Wrote This
Michael Jackson was a man of contradictions:
Sisyphus Pushing v. Buddha Sitting
Someone recently said to me that to conclude that the universe is without purpose needn’t lead to pessimism and Albert Camus-like rebellion (as I have been suggesting lately). Nihilism might just as well mean “the loss of misery and despair as well. … Continue reading
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Tagged Albert Camus, Ayn Rand, beatles, Buddha, Buddhism, Camus, existentialism, fools, heidegger, Hinduism, Sartre, sisyphus
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Poem for Summer Vacations
Passage O soul to India! Passage, immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins! Away O soul! hoist instantly the anchor! Cut the hawsers—haul out—shake out every sail! Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough? … Continue reading
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Tagged extremity, India, journey, life, literature, ocean, poem, poetry, sailing, summer, travel, Walt Whitman
10 Comments
Joan Fry’s “How to Cook a Tapir”
My wife’s friend (and our colleague at the college that we all teach at in California) hit the big time last month, seeing her University of Nebraska Press book, How to Cook a Tapir, reviewed in both the Los Angeles Times … Continue reading
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Tagged 1960s, books, how to cook a tapir, joan fry, life, literature, memoir, travel writing, writing
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Gay Teen Exorcism in Connecticut
Pinch me. We are living in the 21st century, right?
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Tagged agnostic, apologetics, atheist, connecticut, fundamentalism, gay equality, gay marriage, gay rights, James Dobson, Jesus, John Macarthur, pentacostalism
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