In 1919, a poet started drafting what would eventually become one of our most oft-quoted poems, especially in times of struggle and disaster. In its earlier forms, it referenced tensions on the Russian border, before being scrubbed of precise details and left with a more all-encompassing sense of dread. As the poet was writing it, […]
Philosophy
Posted inMeaning & Purpose, Philosophy
Building our own meaning and purpose
The age-old problem of deciphering the meaning of life never gets old as a philosophical project. The word “decipher” here is the wrong word to use from a humanist’s point of view, of course. It is not the meaning is hidden in the fabric of the universe, laid there carefully by some deity for us […]
Posted inPhilosophy, Religion
Can you even calculate a best possible world?
One of the arguments in my most recent book 30 Arguments Against the Existence of “God” concerns OmniGod creating this world, and that this world must be the best of all possible worlds. This is because OmniGod is constrained by his characteristic of being all-loving. In being omnibenevolent, God’s actions must always conform to this […]
Posted inPhilosophy, Religion
Should Christianity lead to belief in the multiverse?
Cosmological theories are often at odds with traditional Christian or theistic views. Although the Catholic Church has accepted the Big Bang theory for the beginning of the universe, this is not a universal Christian belief, and further nuanced theorizing pertaining to our cosmology is often met with more resistance. But one idea could show that […]
Posted inPhilosophy, Religion
One cosmic incarnation or (very, very) many?
I am in the throes of writing a book with Dr. Aaron Adair with the working title of Aliens And Religion: Where Two Worlds Collide—Assessing the Impact of Discovering Extra-Terrestrial Life on Religion and Theology. It’s turning out to be a very interesting writing process since the discipline of “astrotheology” (yes, that’s a thing) is […]
Posted inEthics, Philosophy
I don’t want to be friends just because you’re an atheist
In 2016, I was invited to speak at a conference for Humanist Students UK (the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies, as it was called at the time) at the University of Sheffield. I was dating an English guy then and was excited to share my enjoyment of networking with humanists. He […]
Posted inPhilosophy, Religion
The problem of dysteleology for God belief
In the philosophy of religion, we often hear teleological arguments from theists to propose the probable existence of God. These are arguments that concern design and purpose. Theists like to look at the universe and see the hallmarks of design all over the place. “The universe is fine-tuned for life,” they say, while ignoring that […]
Posted inBooks, Culture, Ethics, Philosophy
In praise of ‘moral weirdos’
It’s one thing to align philosophically with fights against climate change, racism, homo- and transphobia, abuses of human and animal rights, and other injustices. It’s another to do like “Little Benjamin,” as he called himself, and literally lay your body down in the pathway of morally complacent everyday people, forcing them to step over you […]
Posted inDeep Dive, Philosophy
Forgiveness as a secular value: What can we learn from the debate about student loans?
Resentment and anger fuel much of our public discourse. There is not much room for values like compassion and forgiveness. So, President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan comes as a surprise. To some, it is even an insult. Senator Mitch McConnel said “Democrats’ student loan socialism is a slap in the face to working Americans who […]
Posted inEconomics, Ethics, Philosophy
We need to talk about the dark side of the Golden Rule
The Golden Rule, that much-loved staple of low-calorie morality, does more harm than good. Humanists UK posted this on their Facebook page as part of their #HumanistVoices campaign: “A naturally occurring moral philosophy based on reason and empathy,” says Humanists UK about the Golden Rule. “It’s really not complicated,” says Dan Snow. Is that true? […]