Category Archives: Rant
More on tone
The “Tone Wars” revive from time to time, most recently in PZ Myers’ justified criticisms of Richard Dawkins’ objections to feminist objections to sexist language and moves. The story so far: Jen McCreight, who blogs as Blag Hag (why can’t … Continue reading
Filed under Pop culture, Rant, Religion, Sermon, Truisms
Atheists aren’t entirely human, part whatever
I’ve lost track of the number of cases I have linked to in which the irreligious are outright or subtly suggested not to be fully human. Here’s another example, in an “uplifting” Father’s Day story about a man who drowned … Continue reading
Time to re-evaluate higher education
When my grandfather was a boy of 14, he started a career as a fireman that led to him being the chief of the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade in the 1930s. While he did this he gained an engineer’s certificate, … Continue reading
Believing and knowing
I was musing the other day, as I passed by a church school on a walk, on the difference between belief and knowledge. The teachers at that school must teach both. But, I thought, if they taught the wrong knowledge, … Continue reading
Filed under Epistemology, Philosophy, Rant, Religion, Science
Did Synthese bow to Intelligent Design pressure?
A while back I published a paper in a special edition of Synthese on “Evolution and its rivals”. My paper was titled “Are Creationists Rational?” in which I argued that yes, in a bounded sense they are. I was very … Continue reading
Filed under Academe, Censorship, Creationism and Intelligent Design, Evolution, Philosophy, Politics, Rant, Religion
Darwin Day: Enough already
I love studying about Darwin and his life and times. I have read enormous amounts, and taught Darwinian history. I’m teaching it again this semester. But enough already. Can we talk about modern biology now? I get a strong impression … Continue reading
Filed under Biology, Ecology and Biodiversity, Education, Epistemology, Evolution, General Science, History, Philosophy, Rant, Science
Arseholes! Systematics, phylogenetics and HPS
There’s been some developments this day. First of all a defunct blog on history and philosophy of science has revived with a new skin and as a group blog: AmericanScience: A Team Blog. I keep wanting to say “F&*k yeah!” … Continue reading
Filed under Evolution, History, Links, Philosophy, Rant, Science, Systematics
On dictionaries, movements and rhetorical flourishes
Lately, PZ Myers has been on a tear. He has rejected what he calls “Dictionary Atheism”. I have to admit, he has a way with words. I love it that he can come up with such things as the Courtier’s … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Rant, Religion, Truisms
So, can we have some civility now?
Now that a lack of civil discourse has contributed to yet another act of righteous violence – and let’s not pretend that it hasn’t – it seems that we can justifiably raise the question of civility elsewhere, surely. The sort … Continue reading
Filed under Rant
