thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
I have had an interest in the question of free will ever since a long and friendly email discussion with an atheist and determinist almost a decade ago. He was a researcher in artificial intelligence, and strongly believed that human beings had no free will, and that the only way we could have it was […]
In October 2012, 14 eminent scientists, philosophers and other thinkers met for 3 days in a workshop entitled Moving Naturalism Forwards. Why did they meet and what were the outcomes?
I have never really worried much about evolution. I had decided the Genesis origins account was not literal history before I ever thought the scientific account of evolution was true, so the two were never really in conflict for me. But many christians, and a few atheists too, think God and evolution are incompatible. Why?
I’ve been reading a little about DNA lately, particularly about how DNA testing can establish family lines and patterns of migration around the world. It has been fascinating, and it also raises some interesting questions and challenges about belief in God.
For many people it is virtually an unquestioned assumption – science and christian belief are incompatible. But this book by eminent philosopher Alvin Plantinga turns that on its head – he argues that science and theism are very compatible while it is science and atheism/naturalism that are incompatible. Does he succeed?
I have commented before on philosopher and atheist Michael Ruse (Michael Ruse on why is there something rather than nothing?). Ruse specialises in the philosophy of science and religion, and a recent interview in Science on Religion is worth a read.
The late Christopher Hitchens famously wrote that religion poisons everything. One aspect of this sort of conclusion is the claim that religious people do more harm than good. As Stephen Weinberg once said: With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that […]
I’ve long thought that one of the reasons for believing in God is the fact that without God, it is hard to make sense of ethics and human freewill. But here’s an atheist (and a philosopher) who turns a lot of things on their head – he agrees it is hard to make sense of […]
Materialism can be defined as the belief that everything that exists is material or physical. It implies that science, which observes and measures material things, is potentially able to explain all facets of existence. Thus materialism is closely associated with science. Materialism leaves no place for God or supernatural beings. But, some argue, it also […]
When believers and unbelievers discuss, someone or other is likely to say something like: The one making the claim has the burden of proof! What is the burden of proof in this case, and who has it?