Category Archives: Science

Do We Have Free Will?

Posted on 6 October, 2018 by

I remember as a child reading something about “the will” and thinking how odd it was that philosophers talked about it like they might talk about an object. The will? Don’t we just do stuff? I haven’t thought a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Religion/Atheism, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

A Naturalistic Explanation of Suffering

Posted on 17 March, 2018 by

Last time, I noted something of a gap in the results of internet searches on the origin of suffering. I didn’t see any naturalistic explanations, at least in the first page, just supernatural ones and the odd bit of anthropocentric … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Religion/Atheism, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

On the Origin of Morphic Resonance

Posted on 30 December, 2017 by

Or The Preservation of Favoured Hypotheses Have you ever wondered how Rupert Sheldrake came up with the idea of morphic resonance? No, I haven’t really either, but I happened across this interview with Joe Rogan, in which he explained it. … Continue reading →

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The Scientific Christian, Part 3: The Spin Doctor

Posted on 15 August, 2016 by

We have seen that Rev Dr Nick Hawkes, author of Who Ordered the Universe? is a master of the begged question, and we have seen that he is quite adept at quote-mining. Looking at chapter 2, The Evidence of God … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Religion/Atheism, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Scientific Christian, Part 2: Peanuts to Space

Posted on 7 June, 2016 by

Oh no not again [1] I’m reviewing Who Ordered the Universe? by Nick Hawkes. I must apologise to readers who prefer their book reviews short and pithy: the Reverend Doctor manages to cram an inordinate number of dubious statements into … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Philosophy, Religion/Atheism, Science | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Scientific Christian, Part 1: Begging the Question

Posted on 13 May, 2016 by

I have been reading a book by Rev Dr Nick Hawkes, a pastor, writer and broadcaster living in Australia, who has four degrees, two in science and two in theology. The book is called Who Ordered the Universe?: Evidence for … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Philosophy, Religion/Atheism, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Agape, Anyone?

Posted on 20 March, 2014 by

Yakaru’s recent post about finding “common ground” between religion & science by distorting both reminded me of a review I wrote in 2012 on the Amazon site of the book Religion for Atheists: A non-believer’s guide to the uses of religion, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Philosophy, Religion/Atheism, Science | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Humanity Waking Up: origins of religion

Posted on 14 February, 2014 by

For some time I’ve been interested in religion as a natural phenomenon, how it might have developed in early human cultures, what evolutionary processes might be involved, and so on. I wrote a review here of Breaking the Spell, by … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Philosophy, Religion/Atheism, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Stephen Cave Video

Posted on 28 December, 2013 by

I just thought I’d share this.

Video | Posted on 28 December, 2013 by | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, by Daniel Dennett

Posted on 17 September, 2013 by

I am more than a bit disappointed with Breaking the Spell (my first Dennett apart from an essay or two). I found myself plodding through the book, at times wondering if I should bother to finish it. I persevered, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Philosophy, Religion/Atheism, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments