All entries by this author

Mark Oppenheimer on George Scialabba *

Jun 6th, 2009 | Filed by

Scialabba has the time, freedom, and passion of the amateur, and the perspicacity of the pro.… Read the rest



Bad Astronomy on Lethal Homeopathy *

Jun 6th, 2009 | Filed by

Antivaxxers’ work, belief in homeopathy, denying science-based medicine will result in more babies dying. … Read the rest



Homeopathy Killed a Baby *

Jun 6th, 2009 | Filed by

Her parents treated her eczema with homeopathic ‘remedies’ instead of ‘conventional’ medicine. … Read the rest



Virtual Lecture at Second Life on Saturday *

Jun 6th, 2009 | Filed by

Stephen Law presenting a lecture and Q&A about The War for Children’s Minds at The Open Habitat Project.… Read the rest



Ontology or epistemology

Jun 5th, 2009 5:09 pm | By

Chris Mooney says why compatibilism matters via a discussion of Robert Pennock’s testimony at the Kitzmiller trial and Judge Jones’s decision.

Jones and Pennock describe science, and its “ground rule” of methodological naturalism, as an inquiry into the workings of the natural world–one assuming the existence of natural laws that we can discern, and naturalistic processes that we can measure and describe. But, they add, there science basically ends. Is there a “supernatural” that is somehow beyond or outside of nature? Science just can’t say.

Why can’t science say? Because a “supernatural” that is somehow beyond or outside of nature is by definition beyond or outside anything we can meaningfully inquire into: ‘meaningfully’ in the sense of being able to … Read the rest



Bad Astronomy on Simon Singh *

Jun 5th, 2009 | Filed by

If you call someone on the carpet for making fallacious claims, they can basically shut you up by suing you.… Read the rest



Simon Singh Will Appeal the Judgement *

Jun 5th, 2009 | Filed by

Singh criticised BCA for claiming spinal manipulation can treat children with colic, ear infections, asthma.… Read the rest



Support for Simon Singh is Growing *

Jun 5th, 2009 | Filed by

English libel law has no place in disputes about evidence. BCA should discuss evidence outside a courtroom.… Read the rest



Support Simon Singh *

Jun 5th, 2009 | Filed by

If he loses, it will be serious for freedom of speech, not only in Britain but throughout the world.… Read the rest



Jason Rosenhouse on Accommodationism *

Jun 5th, 2009 | Filed by

If a review in TNR is too much for liberal Christians, what could Coyne have done to mollify them? … Read the rest



Joe Hoffmann on Paul Kurtz *

Jun 5th, 2009 | Filed by

‘The idea that the world was “going” secular had failed to take into account religion’s unique ability to go humanistic.’… Read the rest



Paul Kurtz Ousted as Chairman of CFI *

Jun 5th, 2009 | Filed by

Like other nonprofits, the Center for Inquiry is ultimately governed by a board of directors.… Read the rest



Simon Singh: the Story so Far *

Jun 4th, 2009 | Filed by

The article was about an issue of public interest: childhood health and the effectiveness of particular treatments.… Read the rest



Nailing English Libel Law *

Jun 4th, 2009 | Filed by

Simon Singh’s supporters spoke out against BCA suit against an individual with no financial support.… Read the rest



Chris Mooney on Learning the Lessons of Katrina *

Jun 4th, 2009 | Filed by

Anything that encourages hurricane complacency—including predictions of mild weather—is itself a danger.… Read the rest



Tariq Ramadan Issues Instructions to Obama *

Jun 4th, 2009 | Filed by

Must be humble. Islam great civilization. True and deep respect. America should be ready to learn from Islam.… Read the rest



Religion is a very private matter except when it isn’t

Jun 4th, 2009 11:58 am | By

The disagreement between incompatibilists and accommodationists goes on. I’m on the incompatibilist side (surprise surprise). One thing in particular that Chris Mooney said stood out for me:

Religion is a very private matter, and given that liberal religionists support church-state separation, we really have no business questioning their personal way of making meaning of the world. After all, they are not trying to force it on anybody else.

But religion is not a very private matter in the sense of being that to the exclusion of being a very public matter. It’s a private matter in the sense of being internal, personal, sometimes bashful, and the like, but that does not mean that it is always and everywhere exclusively private. … Read the rest



Tariq tells Barack what’s what

Jun 4th, 2009 10:58 am | By

The arrogance of Tariq Ramadan is truly breathtaking.

What we expect from the new president is effective and necessary action as well as a change in attitude. Humility is a key factor…Islam is a great civilisation and Barack Obama should bring a message of true and deep respect by announcing that we all have to learn from each other and that he will commit himself to spreading knowledge of cultural and religious diversity in the United States itself. Humility means we all have to learn from one another and America should be ready to learn from Islam and Muslims as well as from the Hindus or the Buddhists.

Islam is not a civilization at all, just as Christianity and Hinduism … Read the rest



According to the law of God

Jun 3rd, 2009 5:09 pm | By

Religion has nothing to offer to morality, because religion as such adds nothing to moral reasoning. Religion as such is an obstacle to moral reasoning, because it injects elements that are irrelevant and false – irrelevant because they are false. Randall Terry on abortion for instance.

George Tiller was a mass-murderer…Abortion is still murder. And we still must call abortion by its proper name: murder. Those men and women who slaughter the unborn are murderers according to the law of God.

Randall Terry has no idea what ‘the law of God’ might be, and neither does anyone else. Billions of people think they do, but in fact no one does. No one has any reliable knowledge of what the … Read the rest



Anthroposophical Doctors and State Funding *

Jun 3rd, 2009 | Filed by

What do Anthroposophical doctors such as Dr Gruenewald do in Anthroposophical schools?… Read the rest