Administrative I’m [nearly] one year old 10 Jun 200724 Nov 2022 Everyone else is noting the pulse of migration to the SEED stable that occurred here a year ago. Oddly, my ecto links tell me I first posted here on the 25th of June, not the 9th, but who cares. Below the fold is my first post at Science Blogs. How’m… Continue Reading
Social evolution Perspective 8 Jun 2007 A 26 year old woman is convicted of twice driving while on probation for having done so drunk earlier. She is an adult who knew very well what the consequences of her actions would be, for her. Fortunately, she didn’t kill or maim anyone. She is sentenced to a 45… Continue Reading
Evolution The World According to Genesis: Other peoples 8 Jun 200724 Nov 2022 This is the last section I will discuss in detail. It is, of course, the story of Cain and Abel. Cain is a farmer, and Abel is a herdsman. Both of these are agrarian pursuits, in the new agricultural period. But YHWH (just the single name now) seems to value… Continue Reading
Logic and philosophy Rorty has died 8 Jun 200724 Nov 2022 The Leiter Report has a brief obit. Richard Rorty was a significant thinker, although I must say that what I learned from his work Philosophy and the MIrror of Nature, I had to unlearn later on. But that is the way of philosophical discussions. More from Telos, courtesy of Mixing… Continue Reading
Evolution Schadenfreude for AiG 7 Jun 200724 Nov 2022 Schadenfreude , n. Pleasure found in the misfortunes of Answers in Genesis, who employed a pornography actor to play Adam. Well, at least it makes sense – didn’t Adam and Eve fall because they had sex? I’m sure some Baptist told me that once… Continue Reading
Politics Pell causes Catholics stress 6 Jun 2007 Clerical Catholic Imam, George Pell, has done it again. Proven why secularism is a necessity, that is. He has threatened politicians who are Catholics with exclusion from communion, which is not quite excommunication but nevertheless still pretty drastic, if they vote in favour of a secular law permitting stem cell… Continue Reading
Evolution Philosophy is to science, as ornithologists are to birds: 3. Science is a Dynamic Process 6 Jun 200724 Nov 2022 In this post, I want to propose my own view, or rather the views I have come to accept, about the nature of science. [Part 1; Part 2] Continue Reading
Evolution The World According to Genesis: Moral Knowledge 6 Jun 200724 Nov 2022 Like any middle eastern deity, YHWHW Elohim is a fairly petty individual. He doesn’t want competition from his creations, so he blocks access to the “Tree of Life”, which is a magical tree whose fruit can make you live forever. We have two magical trees, a corporeal deity of limited knowledge and good will, a snake that talks and has intentions like any trickster god to thwart the designs of the deity, and a justification for wearing clothes, which is not a matter just of shame, but of intended purpose. Continue Reading
General Science Philosophy is to science, as ornithologists are to birds: 2. Two topics of philosophy of science 5 Jun 200724 Nov 2022 Philosophy of science deals largely with two general topics: Metaphysics and Epistemology. These are general topics of philosophy, and in the philosophy of science they deal only with the metaphysics and epistemology of science. So there are no overarching debates about how you can tell if you’re dreaming, or whether… Continue Reading