Jonathan MS Pearce

Economics

This Is Racist.

I recently wrote a post on the Monopoly analogy to help explain systemic racism. Whilst many people protest (too much) against the idea that systemic racism exists, the simple fact of the matter is that there is myriad evidence to support it, from educational attainment data (in terms of teacher

cancel culture

Is Cancel Culture Fake News?

As you may have seen, I was recently interviewed by fellow Patheoser Andrew Hall on Cancel Culture. Check it out: https://youtu.be/oac8yPaLpls   Stay in touch! Like A Tippling Philosopher on Facebook: A Tippling Philosopher You can also buy me a cuppa. Or buy some of my awesome ATP

Consciousness

An Immaterial Mind Causing the Universe

The other day, I was sent an argument by a commenter on my video discussing the Kalam Cosmological Argument. For the full details of his arguments, please see my post here. William Lane Craig uses an extension to his Kalam Cosmological Argument to conclude that this an immaterial mind, qua

Free Will and Determinism

God's Supposed Free Will: He Cannot Be Contrary to His Own Predictions

This is a video of an older blog piece of mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjjnnRzZK08 Stay in touch! Like A Tippling Philosopher on Facebook: A Tippling Philosopher You can also buy me a cuppa. Or buy some of my awesome ATP merchandise! Please... It justifies me continuing

cancel culture

A Live Stream with Andrew Hall on Cancel Culture - Almost Now!

I can't believe I forgot to put this out there. I am talking to Andrew Hall about Cancel Culture amongst, no doubt, other things, at 4pm BST, which is just under two hour's time! Please join us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oac8yPaLpls   Stay in

determinism

Pragmatic Determinism - How to Thrive in a Cause and Effect World

Tom Clark is head of naturalism.org and is generally a bit of a legend. Anywho, here, he talks determinism and thriving: &fbclid=IwAR2i9TDUvNHO_5mkMLAaEQeh82GDySvIq4R8eWWDCC2ajExOeClX22CxW8o   Stay in touch! Like A Tippling Philosopher on Facebook: A Tippling Philosopher You can also buy me a cuppa. Or buy some of my

Economics

The Monopoly Analogy for Systemic Racism

Ben Shapiro recently went on the Joe Rogan Show where they talked about systemic racism. The interesting thing about the Joe Rogan Show (JRS) is that, when he often has right-wing thinkers and commentators on his show, they temper their more rabid opinions and theories in order to try and

abstracts

Criticising Craig's Personal Mind As Causing the Universe

Here is an argument that a commenter on one of my recent YouTube videos on the Kalam Cosmological Argument gave me. It's actually something I have argued elsewhere (possibly even mentioning in that Kalam series itself). Before I hand over to him, let me remind you of the

atheism

"Hating God": Atheism as Rebelling Against a Father-Figure and Other Nonsenses

I have just had this levelled against me: I rather doubt there is such a thing as atheism. When atheism manifests itself, it appears to be no more than a mixture of confusion and father issues. Most professed atheists seem to live as if there is a god, despite their

Star Wars

Some More News

I'm sad about Michael Brooks right now, to cheer me up, I'm posting a fairly recent discovery I've had: Some More News. It can be incredibly insightful whilst being genuinely funny. Often you can miss some really big references and points because they come

Death & Dying|News

RIP Michael Brooks

Michael Brooks has been an important voice for progressive Americans (though with a global outlook) for a few years, appearing on other networks (like TYT and Sam Seder's The Majority Report) as well as having his own show (The Michael Brooks Show). It is really sad and unexpected

Islam

Persecution: A Tale of Two Muslim Minorities

In talking in my last post about persecution, my call is to try to be nuanced. Sadly, my interlocutor supposedly read the piece and concluded: Nevertheless, we seem very shy about mentioning persecution of Christians in the world here in the West. I don't think Johno ever actually

atheism

Assessing the Claim that "Christians Are the Most Persecuted Group"

I was involved in an argument on Facebook concerning the news of the cathedral in the Frensch city of Nantes. This was fresh news: it was only just happening. And yet, already, the person in question wrote this comment alongside a video of the burning building: There are people who

creation

Craig's Reformulated Kalam & CosmicSkeptic: Free Will and Other Problems

Here is the third and final instalment of the critically acclaimed philosophical trilogy looking at criticising the Kalam Cosmological Argument. In this video, I look to continue my commentary and then go back to look at William Lane Craig's pitiful defence of the idea that God could "

AHA

Humanists Call Out State Department Commission’s Overly Narrow Interpretation of Human Rights Advocacy

From the American Humanist Association: Humanist leaders take issue with the recently released draft report from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Commission on Unalienable Rights, which examined the United States’ founding documents to prioritize commitments to international rights and liberties around the world. The commission interpreted that Christian values

cancel culture

"Cancel Culture": Choose Your Narrative

I have been thinking even more on cancel culture and what it means for society. I wrote the extensive piece 'Is "Cancel Culture" Butchering the Centre?' in which I presented some of the topical literature from both sides of the argument. I want to build on

cancel culture

Is "Cancel Culture" Butchering the Centre?

Cancel culture is the talk of the town. What is it, for those uninitiated? The act of canceling, also referred to as cancel culture (a variant on the term "callout culture"), describes a form of boycott in which an individual (usually a celebrity) who has acted or spoken

Arts

Word of the Day

Because I can never not keep myself busy, I have a new book coming out. This one has come out of left field. 365 words for you to learn or reacquaint yourself with, accompanied by definitions and a comment: either etymological, factoid, thought-provoking or completely irreverent in nature. I'

heaven

Quote of the Day on the Morality of Those Seeking Heaven

I will be expanding on this, but this point from a regular astute commenter is exactly one that I have touched upon here: Heaven & Hell Stop You From Genuinely Morally Evaluating But if you can't be bothered to read that, read (((J_Enigma32)))'s recent comment:

conceptual nominalism

Dekonstructing the Kalam: CosmicSkeptic, William Lane Craig & Conceptual Nominalism

In my first video in this series on the Kalam as pertaining to leading light of internet atheism, CosmicSkeptic, I looked at running a commentary that hoped to highlight the need for clarity in many of the points that Alex O'Connor made in a vide debunking his former

evolution

Meaning of life: Humans and other animals

I was looking out of the window today and watching two Cabbage White butterflies fluttering about in the jolting aerial dance that they go through in their almost random-looking ritual of sex selection. Of course, it is not random, but tried and tested over generations, embedded by the machinations of

equality

Tucker Carlson's Chief Writer Resigns Over Racist and Sexist Comments

Tucker Carlson has long been known for his racist views and attitudes, including calling white supremacy a hoax. You could fill hours and hours of video with his racist monologues. Recently, his opinions have seen big-name advertisers pull their spots from his show. That is newsworthy in and of itself.

Cosmology

Debunking CosmicSkeptic Debunking Himself Debunking the Kalam. A Rebunking? Or Something...

Okay, this isn't so much a debunking as a conversation or a use of Alex O'Connor's (CosmicSkeptic) recent video as a stimulus for discussion. It's a commentary of sorts. I've got a lot of time for O'Connor: his

humanism

England: Waiting for Humanist Weddings to Be a Thing

This was a good little watch to brighten my morning. Long overdue. Let's get it done, England. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jzg5kSWFXA   Stay in touch! Like A Tippling Philosopher on Facebook: A Tippling Philosopher You can also buy me a cuppa. Or buy some of my

Joe Biden

Kanye West for President: Anti-Vaccine, Anti-Abortion, Return "Fear and Love of God" to Schools

The questions are: 1. Who will vote for Kanye West? 2. Which other candidate will this then hurt? I can't for the life of me understand why he is running for President. Oh, wait a minute, yes I can. He's at least two sandwiches short of