How Not to Refute an Argument from Moral Law for God’s Existence
Jerry Coyne just posted an article titled, “Paul Bloom debunks the ‘Moral Law argument for God.’” I found myself getting irritated as I read the article because it’s obvious Coyne doesn’t know what he is talking about. Before we get to Bloom’s findings, what is the “moral law argument”? It’s simply this: human altruism can’t … How Not to Refute an Argument from Moral Law for God’s Existence
Stirring the Pot
It has been quiet here at SO lately. A little TOO quiet—as they used to say in the old Western movies. Maybe we are not saying anything very controversial. Or maybe people are just too busy with real work to do. Anyway, I thought I would stir the pot with some claims that I would … Stirring the Pot
Playing The Mystery Card (incl. McGrath vs Dawkins) from my book Believing Bullshit
PLAYING THE MYSTERY CARD Suppose critics point out that not only do you have little in the way of argument to support your particular belief system, there also seems to be powerful evidence against it. If you want, nevertheless, to convince both yourself and others that your beliefs are not nearly as ridiculous as … Playing The Mystery Card (incl. McGrath vs Dawkins) from my book Believing Bullshit
Philosophy and religion in Schools
Religion and philosophy in schools (from Hand and Winstanley, Philosophy in Schools, Continuum 2008)) Is philosophy in schools a good idea? The extent to which early exposure to a little philosophical thinking is of educational benefit is, of course, largely an empirical question. As a philosopher, that sort of empirical study is not my area … Philosophy and religion in Schools
The Afterlife Broadcasting Company Presents
This is a portion of a dialogue I wrote for the benefit of students in my introductory ethics class. Since we have had some lively debates about ethical matters here at SO, I thought some readers might be interested. I imagined a discussion (in some sort of afterlife) between Aristotle, Locke, Mill, and Kant. Each … The Afterlife Broadcasting Company Presents
TV interview in Tehran
I was at a philosophy of religion conference in Tehran, Iran last week – invited as an atheist to speak to and engage with assembled philosophers, cleric. etc. I appeared briefly on TV – unfortunately the bit of the interview they chose to broadcast was misleading as they cut the “but”… Go here: I was … TV interview in Tehran
Best of All Possible Persons – Part 2
What do you get if you cross ‘the best of all possible worlds’ (from Leibniz) with ‘the being than which none greater can be conceived’ (from Anselm)? You get: the best of all possible persons, which is another way to conceive of God. Here are two proofs of the non-existence of God, based on this … Best of All Possible Persons – Part 2
What is humanism?
What is Humanism? “Humanism” is a word that has had and continues to have a number of meanings. The focus here is on kind of atheistic world-view espoused by those who organize and campaign under that banner in the UK and abroad. We should acknowledge that there remain other uses of term. In … What is humanism?