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Tag Archives: social psychology
Persuasion Beneath the Radar
I find it interesting that the below video promotes manipulation of people as ethical. At no point is one advised to reason with vulnerability and openness; to provide people with more than one side of an argument; or to rely on … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged advertising, critical thinking, Freud, persuasion, propaganda, psychology, reason, social psychology
1 Comment
Global Debt Slavery Watch: Economic Anthropologist David Graeber Thinks Slavery and Debt Slavery May Be a Distinction Without Much of a Difference
At Naked Capitalism, Dublin-based journalist Philip Pilkington asks economic anthropologist David Graeber an intriguing question: We know that in many Western countries over the past few years households have been running up enormous debts, from credit card debts to mortgages … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged class warfare, david graeber, debt, debt forgiveness, economics, globalism, jubilee, materialism, mind, philosophy, social psychology
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Collective Guilt Watch: If Muslims are Responsible for Osama Bin Laden, Are Anti-Muslim Bloggers Responsible For Anders Behring Breivik?
Anders Behring Breivik—the Norwegian who recently went on a Christian nationalist inspired rampage, murdering over 90 of his fellow citizens in Norway—immersed himself in the rhetoric of anti-Muslim blogs where Muslims are routinely tarred with collective guilt for such things as 9/11. The question is thus … Continue reading
Not a Flash Mob, but a Flash Rob
Demonstrating the double-edged sword that technology so frequently represents, and the human propensity to make use of it for both good and evil, this new form of theft—shown in the below video—is, apparently, coordinated using cell phones.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cell phones, crime, Dionysus, evil, flash mob, flash rob, robbery, social psychology, technology, theft
12 Comments
The Evangelical (and Republican) Cult Explosion
Karl Giberson is an evangelical, a biologist, and an intellectual. And he’s fighting the “good fight” against that (larger) cultic part of evangelical subculture that is epistemically closed to secular scholarship. By calling the mass of evangelicalism cultic, I mean that it has created … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged agnosticism, America, apologetics, atheism, atheist, decline, doubt, God, Jesus, John Macarthur, psychology, social psychology
6 Comments
Is Atheism the New Normal?
Recently perusing a back issue of The New Yorker (from May 21, 2007), I noticed an article by Anthony Gottlieb on post-9-11 atheism titled “Atheists with Attitude” (77-80), the conclusion of which I found arresting: [O]ne can venture conservative estimates … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged agnosticism, atheism, atheist, God, history, internationalism, Jesus, muhammad, philosophy, secularism, social psychology
30 Comments
Harold Camping Rapture Fiasco Watch: A Wry Asian’s Take
A pretty good summing up of American fundamentalist inanity, and, at the end, a refreshing solution to the question of why there is so much ridiculous suffering (and stupidity) in the world: . The ending, in its eccentric way, echoes … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged atheism, atheist, End Times, fundamentalism, God, Harold Camping, Jesus, psychology, rapture, religion, social psychology
3 Comments
Max Keiser on the “Blind Cult of America”
Max Keiser’s money program is uneven in quality and alarmist catnip for gold bugs, but this recent episode is mildly entertaining (though I don’t like his anti-intellectual populist posturing against Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman). Max Keiser presents himself as a truth-teller bravely … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged America, cults, depression 2.0, economics, gold, max keiser, money, Paul Krugman, social psychology, the economy
1 Comment
Republican Governor Rick Perry Calls on Texans to Pray For Rain
Reuters reports that the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, has called on Texans to pray to God for rain, and quotes him as saying the following: It is fitting that Texans should join together in prayer to humbly seek an … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged apologetics, atheism, atheist, critical thinking, God, gods, nihilism, prayer, reason, rick perry, social psychology
1 Comment
End Times Hysteria Watch: Lyn Benedetto Allegedly Tried to Kill Her Daughters to Save Them from The Tribulation
The Antelope Valley Press, a northern Los Angeles County newspaper, had the following disturbing headline on Sunday, March 20, 2011: Mom feared ‘The Tribulation,’ cops say: Cut daughters’ throats, then her own. And the opening paragraph to the story was … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 2012, apologetics, doomsday, End Times, fundamentalism, hysteria, John Macarthur, psychology, Revelation, social psychology, the Bible, the tribulation
25 Comments
Chris Hedges the Prophet
Former New York Times war correspondent, Chris Hedges, has, over the past couple of years, taken on the mantle of a secular prophet—an emperor has no clothes truthteller—writing scathing (and I think powerful) books and essays documenting the messes that we find ourselves … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged atheism, Chris Hedges, easter island, fundamentalism, global warming, God, matt ridley, plutocracy, prophets, social psychology
50 Comments
Be nice to your co-workers (or Darwin may give you the smackdown)
In a New York Times science article this morning is a superb reason for being nice to your tribe of fellow co-workers (and even to the people in the competing tribes around you): A team of anthropologists led by Kim S. Hill … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged business, Charles Darwin, cooperation, evolution, facebook, human evolution, paleolithic facebook, psychology, social psychology, success, work
8 Comments
A Wonderful Arugula Rant
This guy’s arugula rant never went viral back in 2008, but it should have. It has only gotten about 1600 hits at YouTube, but it’s absolutely worth seeing: And here’s some arugula I found being sold at “elite” Walmart:
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Tagged America, ARUGULA, Blue State, conservatism, culture, elitism, liberals, Red State, social psychology, walmart
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What’s the Right Rhythm for the Weekend, for Life?
If you think that life is worth living, are you? And what’s it worth living for, anyway? Maybe the hint is in this video. Or maybe not. What do you think?
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Tagged dance, existentialism, life, love, mental health break, music, philosophy, psychology, rhythm, social psychology, weekend
4 Comments
The Emperor Has No Clothes
But you might not say anything if nobody else is: And something curious here: variations on this experiment have found that, if just one person starts to speak the truth of his or her perceptions, then the group’s “spell” is weakened considerably … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged atheism, bandwagon appeals, conformity, God, Jesus, Politics, psychology, rogue, social psychology, the emperor has no clothes, trolls
5 Comments
Love’s Labours Scorned: Robert Wright on the Quran
A careful student of religious texts, Robert Wright, in the New York Times this week, offers his considered judgment on the what the Quran is: [I]f you’re curious as to the reason for the Koran’s seeming ambivalence toward Christians and Jews: … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged biblical interpretation, Christianity, culture, Islam, Jesus, Judaism, muhammad, peace, quran, religious dialogue, robert wright, social psychology
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Your WTF is not necessarily your neighbor’s WTF
A little life reminder that the messages we send, and the messages we think we send, may not be the same: There is an image circulating on the Internet (but that I can’t seem to embed here) of a megachurch promoting … Continue reading
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Tagged buddhists, Christians, communication, have a meal with a muslim day, hindus, irony, Islam, Jews, Muslims, rhetoric, social psychology, wtf
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Prometheus Unbound 