If when watching atheist/author Sam Harris in a previous post you were wondering who he reminded you of, wonder no more:
Spot-on!
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Monthly Archives: March 2010
Introduce yourself
At a blog like this, it’s easy to be pigeonholed into labels—usually “atheist” or “theist.” I am assuredly an atheist, but that’s not all I am. You and I should take this post as an opportunity to introduce ourselves as more than just an atheist or theist, because understanding each other as people and not just points of view makes for better discussions.
And while many who frequent this blog are members of USU SHAFT and are friends, other visitors have never been to a club meeting and may not even attend Utah State. This is yet another reason why introductions are in order.
An evolutionary view of morality
Professor Kleiner for some time now has presented us student atheists a challenge to explain morality in non theological bases. In the video by Sam that was just posted by Jon it talks about how some things are more morally acceptable than others and that there does exist a basic moral right. The problem I have with the video is that it doesn’t explain how humans have come to the conclusion that there are some things that are wrong and that there are some that are right.
To deal with these challenges and issues I turned towards evolution. The reason I did so is because if any state of mind exist it first (as shown by a plethora of evidence) must have evolved that way.
Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions
I think that Sam Harris is on to something here, but only once we assume that the end of morality is “human flourishing.”
Skeptic James Randi comes out as gay at 81
James Randi came out as gay today at the ripe old age of 81. Good on him.
For those who don’t know of him: James Randi is a famed magician, skeptic, and debunker of pseudoscience. He is best known for his “One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge,” which offers a prize of one million U.S. dollars to anyone who can demonstrate a supernatural ability under mutually agreed-upon scientific testing criteria. Many have taken the challenge, but none have succeeded.
Randi and his foundation have exposed psychics like Sylvia Browne, paranormalists like Uri Geller, and faith healers like Peter Popoff for the frauds they are.
A humanist case for health care reform
I haven’t meant for this to be a forum for political discussion, so I’ve resisted the urge to post about health care reform. But not today.
The fact is that I can’t divorce my politics from my secular humanism. The latter indelibly informs the former. As a humanist, I’m outraged that we live in a country where millions are without access to affordable health care.
And such outrage is fundamental to any kind of humanism—religious or secular. If you care about human welfare and you’re not outraged about the state of the world (not just health care), you’re not paying attention.
Atheists: Make more babies!*
Babies may be born atheists, but few are born to atheist parents. Here are some excerpts from an interesting Telegraph article entitled “Atheism is doomed: the contraceptive pill is secularism’s cyanide tablet”:
Joseph Smith and Stephen Colbert
I stumbled upon the above picture on a Mormon discussion forum earlier today. Maybe the picture is only good for a laugh. It’s at least good for that much. But because the picture invites a comparison between Joseph Smith and Stephen Colbert, let’s explore it (if for no other reason than it would be fun to do so). 
So what are some similarities between these two men? Any thoughts?
I’ve been thinking about, and—despite all their obvious differences—I think Smith and Colbert would have really hit it off. They are both boisterous, dramatic, and creative personalities. Imagine Smith as a guest on the Colbert Report, for example. The prophet of Truth vs. the pundit of “truthiness.” Now that’s must-see TV! And with Smith’s quick-wit and sense of humor, I actually suspect he’d hold up quite well against Colbert.