Daily Archives: July 8, 2009

Mind Ontologically Dependent on the Mindless: Very Strange to Think about If True

If metaphysical naturalism is true, this tidbit from Wikipedia: What all metaphysical naturalists agree on, however, is that the fundamental constituents of reality, from which everything derives and upon which everything depends, are fundamentally mindless. So if any variety of … Continue reading

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The Energy of a Thing

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What is Empiricism?

Here’s a quote from Wikipedia: In philosophy, empiricism is a theory of knowledge which asserts that knowledge arises from experience. Empiricism is one of several competing views about how we know “things,” part of the branch of philosophy called epistemology, … Continue reading

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Mental Health Break

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As Non-Empirical Languages, Do Philosophical Systems Have Greater Epistemic Validity Than Theological Systems?

I would say no. When we are dealing with non-empirical (that is, non-scientific) languages, I don’t think that you can give substantially greater epistemic weight to the conclusions of philosophers over those of theologians. When I think of some of the … Continue reading

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Francis Collins, Jerry Coyne, and “Shameful” Non-Empirical Languages

The Evangelical Christian geneticist, Francis Collins, has been taking some rather harsh rhetorical hits lately from atheist biologist and blogger, Jerry Coyne (of the University of Chicago). Collins recently started a foundation (The BioLogos Foundation) that explores intersections between science … Continue reading

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Once You Leave the Realm of the Empirical, How Do You Discriminate Between Non-Empirical Languages?

I think this is a very tricky question. Once you leave the sciences and the languages of empiricism that scientists speak to one another in, or once you come up against questions that empiricism cannot directly address (such as should … Continue reading

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Does Atheism Entail Metaphysical Assumptions Which Cannot Be Warranted by Empiricism?

The short answer is yes. To say that you reject not just particular individual gods (like Zeus, Vishnu, or Yahweh), but all gods (or the concept of God), necessarily entails that you must also believe that matter, energy, the laws … Continue reading

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Why Don’t You See Biologists Jumping on the Michael Behe Anti-Evolution Bandwagon?

Michael White, a biologist with training akin to Michael Behe’s, explains why Behe’s anti-evolution follow-up book to Darwin’s Black Box is almost certainly flawed in its fundamental arguments: [Sean] Carroll [in the magazine Science ] goes on to make this important point: “Behe seems … Continue reading

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What I Had for Breakfast

A spinach, egg, and cheese burrito, as well as some eggs and ketchup on the side. What? And I ate them on this cool Japanese Zen-looking plate I got at Target a couple of days ago. My wife doesn’t think … Continue reading

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The Holocaust: Did Darwin Make Hitler Do It?

Richard Weikart, the historian and Discovery Institute ally who wrote From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany (Palgrave Macmillan 2004), in a new book (coming out in two weeks) pushes forward with his thesis that “Darwinism” is … Continue reading

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