morality - A Tippling Philosopher (Page 7)

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morality

A collection of 176 posts

Can an 'is' be an 'ought'? Mike D on the science of morality.

Mike D's excellent blog The A-Unicornist has some real gems, and if only I had more time I would hang out there more often (I am trying to get a sidebar widget to link to offsite blogs). His latest post concerns the is/ought debate, especially dealing with Sam Harris/Richard Carrier and the great ph

Book description for "Christianity is Not Great" which features a chapter from me

John Loftus' new book features a chapter from yours truly. Here is the description he has in place for the forthcoming anthology: For the chapter titles and authors see here. Now for the description: This anthology focuses on the harms of Christian faith that best explain why atheists argue

Transhumanism: The World's Most Dangerous Idea? (Nick Bostrom)

So tonight I am attending a Tippling Philosophers get-together in Fareham, UK. We are discussing transhumanism. For those who don;t know, this is the idea (or movement for the idea) that we can adapt our bodies and cognitive abilities using technology to prolong our lives, choose our babies genotype

Hey women, check out where you can get stoned! Book your holidays now...

Check out this map. In this day and age, this is nothing short of a shocker. I simply cannot believe the UN hasn't got any binding laws against it's usage such that it would contravene human rights regulations. Here are some interesting points from the article

Lothar's Son responds to our Google Hangout on the Problem of Evil

God's characteristics

Lothar's Son responds to our Google Hangout on the Problem of Evil

Lothar's Son, who has interacted before with me on Ockham's Razor (which I was just too busy to deal with his reaction to my initial thoughts, so sorry there), has responded to the Google Hangout that Counter Apologist, Justin Schieber and myself. Here is his post, which I will post in a slightly di

Generosity Leads to Evolutionary Success, Biologists Show

Recently, I have run a number of articles about morality and its intersection with biology: Human Brains Are Hardwired for Empathy, Friendship Altruism or Manipulated Helping? Altruism May Have Origins in Manipulation New Studies Link Gene to Selfish Behavior in Kids, Find Other Children Natural Givers Some Plants Are Altruistic,

Alvin Plantinga

Evidential Problem of Evil - A highbrow threesome?

Well, it depends on your definition of highbrow, of course. But please check out the video of myself, Counter Apologist and Justin Schieber from Reasonable Doubts discussing the Evidential Problem of Evil, going through a ton of arguments and interesting points. It was really enjoyable and we hope y

consequentialism

William Lane Craig - "Consequentialism is a terrible ethic" - could he be more incoherent?

Craig has been involved in a series of discussions in Australia with Laurence Krauss regarding philosophy and science. Unfortunately, Krauss is no great philosopher which is what most of this discussion revolved around. However, both Craig and the annoying moderator claimed the "consequentialism is

Peppa Pig World, traffic, and the philosophy of free riding

Peppa Pig World, traffic, and the philosophy of free riding

My twins had their birthday the other day so we went to Paulton's Park, a local theme park for young children with a section called Peppa Pig World, and my boys love Peppa Pig. All sounds rather unphilosophical so far. But that was until we pulled off the M27 and hit the short dual carriageway to

Human Brains Are Hardwired for Empathy, Friendship

Science Daily: Aug. 22, 2013 — Perhaps one of the most defining features of humanity is our capacity for empathy -- the ability to put ourselves in others' shoes. A new University of Virginia study strongly suggests that we are hardwired to empathize because we closely associate people who are

Altruism or Manipulated Helping? Altruism May Have Origins in Manipulation

Manipulation is often thought of as morally repugnant, but it might be responsible for the evolutionary origins of some helpful or altruistic behavior, according to a new study.

Guest Post by The Thinker - A Short Look At William Lane Craig's "Refutations" Of The B-Theory Of Time

Over at the website Closer To Truth, which is a site about an agnostic who goes around interviewing philosophers and scientists to try to find answers to the biggest and deepest mysteries of the meaning of existence and the universe, there is a profile of William Lane Craig. In it, they summarize hi

What religion has contributed to the world this month - May/June

http://youtu.be/ctWj-OV4cI0

Political Libertarianism, Science Denialism, Philosophy and the likes of James Delingpole

I am going to look at political libertarianism in this post in the context of morality, ethics and philosophy. This has been brought on by the Any Questions live radio programme on BBC Radio 4 the other day from the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, Wales which featured right-wing Co

How to polish a shaft

How to polish a shaft

Sweet bejesus, this is the weirdest, craziest shit I have ever seen. The Church of England congregations would have coronaries in their pews! Only in America... "Jack Schaap, the former pastor of one of America's biggest mega-churches, was sentenced yesterday for seducing a young parishioner by telling

Conscientious objection to abortion: Catholic midwives win appeal

The article below is from the UK Human Rights Blog. There is an interesting development in allowing subgroups of a society to exempt themselves from national laws or requirements. Then again, is there a sense that there is an analogy here between this and the rights of someone with dietary requireme

Why are religion and violence now so closely linked?

Andrew Brown in the Guardian: The settled world order is secular, and fanaticism thrives when people feel alienated and threatened for their beliefs. It's a commonplace that wars and religions are closely associated. Since about 1945 there has been an increasing tendency for wars to be fought

Teh Gayz

This piece of genius was sent to me. From whence it came, I know not: God made Adam and Eve and the Devil made the pee pee and the whoo whoo. Oh wait... Seriously. WTF is up with that? It's astonishing to think that these people (who think

Gay marriage flow chart

H/T to Mike D. at The A-Unicornist.

The Boy Scouts of America's exclusions: the gay and the godless

I have run a few articles on Scouts, Girlguides and air cadets, with regard to religious oaths and what have you. The Boy Scouts of america are going through rather an important period, as there is a potential movement to allow gays into their troops, changing their existing exclusionary policy. In

New Studies Link Gene to Selfish Behavior in Kids, Find Other Children Natural Givers

Can't believe I missed this one. Interesting, and something I will bring up in my talk tonight on free will at Southampton University to the Atheist Society. Research into prosocial (kind) behaviour is always interesting, and something I have documented here, here and here. there is a mix of genetic

Some Plants Are Altruistic, Too, New Study Suggests

Some Plants Are Altruistic, Too, New Study Suggests

Feb. 1, 2013 — We've all heard examples of animal altruism: Dogs caring for orphaned kittens, chimps sharing food or dolphins nudging injured mates to the surface. Now, a study led by the University of Colorado Boulder suggests some plants are altruistic too. The researchers looked at corn, in wh

Found: Altruism Brain Cells

Brain cells that fire only when monkeys act unselfishly may provide clues to the neural basis of altruism, according to a new study. In the study, the cells fire in rhesus monkeys when they gave juice away, but not when they received it. The findings, published Dec. 23 in the journal Nature Neurosci

God is a consequentialist

So here is an essay that I wrote earlier this year. I am posting it to see what you think, but also because I am writing a post on a connected idea based on a paper by Stephen Maitzen on how morality presupposes atheism. Fascinating stuff. Anyway, comments below please.

Does Morality Depend on God?

This is one of my favourite essays on the subject of morality and God. It is by P. Wesley Edwards and can be found variously online, such as here. JohnM was espousing the idea in his comments here that under an atheistic worldview, there is no moral foundation. Moreover, as the argument goes, only G