Life Without a Net
morality
Moral Development and Owning Emotions
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about moral development, and it’s led me to a place that’s uncharacteristically Zen for me. Let me walk you through the process that’s been at work in my head. If you’re not familiar with Kohlberg‘s scale of moral development, here’s a basic overview, courtesy of Wikipedia. Level 1 (Pre-Conventional) … Continue reading
God’s Mysterious Ways
I don’t spend much time talking to theists about the problem of evil. It’s never seemed like an effective way to poke holes in their delusions. But this site is primarily geared towards non-theists and recovering theists, so I think maybe it’s worth delving into. The problem of evil is very closely tied to the … Continue reading
Honesty and Priming
Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, conducted a really neat experiment. Subjects were given a standardized test of general knowledge, and were paid a set amount for each answer they got right. Three groups took the same test under slightly different conditions. The control group was not given the … Continue reading
A Scandal Went Down to Georgia
Another high-powered alpha male is in trouble for alpha male behavior. University of Georgia Athletic Director Damon Evans was arrested for DUI late Wednesday night. There are several embarrassing elements to this story. First, Damon was the star of a public service announcement urging UGA students not to drink and drive. Whoops. Second, there was … Continue reading
Can Science Talk About Morality?
Since this week’s topic appears to be accommodationism, I need to address one of the most common claims of accommodationists and theists: Science is great at describing objective reality, such as comets and DNA, but it can’t address philosophical or metaphysical questions of meaning, especially morality. The idea is that religion contributes to the collective … Continue reading
Vacation
I’ll be on vacation most of this week, 20 miles from the nearest broadband connection. With any luck, I’ll return with a full head of steam (I’m deep in the heart of Fundyland) and a decent suntan. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite articles from the past year. A fellow blogger recently … Continue reading
Chris Hedges: Non-Religion = Nietzsche?
A few weeks ago, I gave a resoundingly favorable review to Chris Hedges’ book, American Fascists. I see it as a shining example of the bipartisanship that can exist between atheists and theists in America. And for the record, no, I do not consider myself a part of the camp that believes faith-based worldviews and … Continue reading
Morality is in the Brain
It may seem trite to say, but morality is in our brains. A recent experiment at MIT has shown rather conclusively that a certain area of the brain is instrumental in making moral judgments. When electrical stimulation was used to disrupt the functioning of this region, subjects had significant difficulty determining the moral value of … Continue reading
Christian Philosopher: It’s About Morality
James S. Spiegel claims we have a morality problem. His new book, The Making of an Atheist, proposes that atheism is really just rebellion against God’s morality. He admits that it could appear unseemly or offensive to suggest that a person’s lack of belief in God is a form of rebellion. But he said in … Continue reading
Us and Them
Open Salon has a neat little article by Michelle Motoyoshi explaining very politely that atheists are not ethically bankrupt monsters. I appreciate the main thrust of the article very much: Contrary to popular belief, one can believe in a greater good without subscribing to a greater being. And it is this greater good (the betterment … Continue reading
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