Justin Barrett’s “Hyperactive Agency Detection Device” (HADD)
Another item for the “not new, but new for me” category. Justin Barrett is a cognitive scientist of religion and the author of Why Would Anyone Believe in God? In that book, Barrett advances an intriguing explanatory hypothesis for why most people believe in God: the Hyperactive Agency Detection Device (HADD) hypothesis. I have to … Justin Barrett’s “Hyperactive Agency Detection Device” (HADD)
LINK: Monton on “Design Inferences in an Infinite Universe”
Yet another one for the “not new, but new for me” category. Philosopher Bradley Monton has written an extremely intriguing essay on design inferences in an infinite universe. Here is the abstract: This paper addresses two main questions. First, how does one determine that something has the features it does as a result of design, … LINK: Monton on “Design Inferences in an Infinite Universe”
In Defense of William Lane Craig
After my last post on William Lane Craig and debating, I decided to do several web searches related to William Lane Craig and debating. While I obviously disagree with his arguments, I have no problem with him as a person. I suspect the majority of atheists (who know who he is) also do not. But … In Defense of William Lane Craig
Public Reason
There’s a popular (I’m tempted to say “standard”) secular liberal argument in support of a secular public sphere. Appeals to faith, the argument goes, might have purchase on the faithful, but not on those outside a particular sect. The Bible interpretation of a certain denomination or the pronouncements of popes and rebbes may legitimately persuade … Public Reason
Adam Lee: Conservatives Want America to be a “Christian Nation” — Here’s What That Would Actually Look Like
Adam Lee compares “Rick Perry’s version of ‘Christian values’ to what the Bible really dictates.”LINK
Reppert on Harris on Killing People for What They Believe
On his Dangerous Idea blog, Victor Reppert takes Sam Harris to task for his statement that ““Some beliefs are so dangerous that it may be ethical to kill people for believing them.” I haven’t read Harris’s book. With that said, based solely on the quotation provided by Reppert, I find Harris’s (apparent?) statement appalling. If … Reppert on Harris on Killing People for What They Believe
LINK: The Mildest Anti-God Billboard You’ll Ever See
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LINK: Physicist David Deutsch: Immaterial Explanations Aren’t Necessarily False
Amy Hall at Stand to Reason summarizes a video interview with Oxford physicist and atheist David Deutsch. I haven’t seen the video, but her summary sure makes it sound interesting. LINK
Mandating coverage is not requiring use
Proposed regulations in the Affordable Care Act would provide preventive services for women that Catholic doctrine considers sinful. I am not surprised that John Garvey, President of Catholic University, doesn’t approve. But I thought I was reading George Orwell’s novel 1984 when he said: “In objecting to these regulations, our university does not seek to … Mandating coverage is not requiring use
Resistance to evidence
Last weekend I presented at a local conference, with faculty members from various departments across campus talking about their work. Since I have been working on a paper (with Maarten Boudry) having to do with the limits of physics and how we might find a signature of a supernatural cause in data, I talked about … Resistance to evidence