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Richard Wade’s advice column this week is on a great topic, which is well illustrated by the comic he leads with: In the letter which occasions this topic of discussion, Trevor describes his mother’s reactions to his atheism: the next day she continued saying “I can’t believe you think you’re an atheist…how can you have [...]
Archive for January, 2011
The Atheism Tapes: Philosopher Colin McGinn
January 31st, 2011 
Daniel Fincke Below is a good video in which Colin McGinn first talks in personal terms about he became an atheist and then the philosophical case for atheism: Your Thoughts?
Posted in Arguments Against The Existence of God, Arguments Against The Existence of God, Arguments for the Existence of God, Arguments for the Existence of God, Atheism, Atheism, Atheist Videos, Atheist Videos, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, Philosophy, Secularism, Videos, Why I Am Not A Christian, Why I Am Not A Christian 
Tags: Colin McGinn 
2 Comments »Daily Awkwardness: Jesse Eisenberg’s SNL Monologue (With Mark Zuckerberg’s Cameo)
January 31st, 2011 Daniel Fincke Every second of this, even before their blandly staged and scripted meeting, is completely awkward:
Does The Left Need Its Own Rush Limbaugh Or FOX News?
January 31st, 2011 Daniel Fincke Conor Friedersdorf thinks the left is better off without Olbermann and not having all the liabilities that come with inflammatory characters: The left has its own malign influences on public discourse. Some are rich and successful. It no more makes sense for liberals to envy the right it’s talk radio hosts than it makes sense [...]
Dissent of the Day
January 31st, 2011 Daniel Fincke I received secondhand this reply to my post on Clinton’s response to the situation in Egypt: 1. I’d like his explicit definition or explication of “long term concerns for stability in the region.” 2. If we really want the United States not to be dictating to foreign countries what they should do then we should [...]
Posted in Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton, News Discussion, News Discussion, Politics, Politics, World Affairs, World Affairs Tags: Egypt 2 Comments »Daily Hilarity: The Grad Student Rap
January 31st, 2011 Daniel Fincke So the music is an abomination, the rhymes are mildly amusing, and the rapping is pathetic, but, you know, out of solidarity with all the grad students out there and in tribute to a decade of my life that is now mercifully over, I just had to post this: The book they’re hawking is Surviving [...]
Just How Much Control Over Their Children’s Thought Are Parents Entitled To?
January 31st, 2011 Daniel Fincke In reply to yesterday’s open philosophical question whether a Swedish law banning any school, even private ones, from indoctrinating students by teaching their religious tenets as truths (with the ulterior motive of undermining Islamic schools’ abilities to radicalize their students), Mary Young makes a rigorous and eloquent case against such bans well worth highlighting (and [...]
Posted in 'Nuff Said, 'Nuff Said, 'Nuff Said, Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authority, Authority, Autonomy, Autonomy, Christianity, Christianity, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Creationism, Creationism, Cultural Secularism, Cultural Secularism, Education, Featured, Free Speech, Free Speech, Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism, Islam, Islam, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Political Secularism, Political Secularism, Politics, Politics, Racism, Religion, Religion, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Secularism, Separation of Church and State, Separation of Church and State Tags: Dogma, Dogmatism, Homeschooling, Indoctrination, Islamophobia, Parents' Rights 21 Comments »Is This What Secretary Clinton Really Means?
January 31st, 2011 Daniel Fincke I have already made my case that Secretary Clinton is saying the right things. In the interest of giving equal time to alternative viewpoints, here is a wholly uncharitable and scathing video which “translates” recent remarks to show that she allegedly “really means” the wrong things: Your Thoughts?
“Beware The Believers”
January 31st, 2011 Daniel Fincke I have no idea whether this parody (which is several years old) is actually against us or is just irreverently for us. I think that’s part of why I like it so much. That, and it’s totally well made, mesmerizingly bizarre, and undeniably hilarious in its visuals: (NSFW) Okay, after writing the above, I did [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheist Videos, Atheist Videos, Christopher Hitchens, Christopher Hitchens, Comedy, Comedy, Creationism, Creationism, Hilarious, Intelligent Design, Intelligent Design, Music Videos, Music Videos, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, Parody, Parody, PZ Myers, PZ Myers, Religion and Science, Satire, Satire Tags: Daniel Dennett, Eugenie Scott, Richard Dawkins 2 Comments »Thoughts On Secretary Clinton’s Response To Egypt
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke As always when I venture out of my areas of specialization, let me preface all following remarks with the obvious reminder—I am by no means a foreign policy expert or a Middle East expert. So take the following on the merits of my arguments and bring forth any facts you think I may need to [...]
Anonymous Was A Woman
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke For all feminists and sticklers for proper quote attribution alike, the Yale Alumni Magazine has a wonderful must-read article setting the record straight on the real women who wrote famous lines either falsely attributed to men or long attribute to “anonymous”. (Virginia Woolf wrote that she “would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so [...]
Posted in Feminism, Feminism, Women's Issues Tags: Evelyn Beatrice Hall, Literary History, Literature, S. G. Tallentyre, Voltaire 1 Comment »Rejecting And Reconciling Moral Intuitionist Ideas With My Naturalist Account Of Goodness
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In reply to my post, Against Moral Intuitionism, James Gray defended his moral intuitionist leanings against my attacks on them. He starts by quoting me: But many people can be and have been persuaded that goodness is not a property of things but rather of people’s attitudes towards them. The very existence of anti-realists about the existence [...]
Posted in Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Epistemic Justification, Epistemic Justification, Epistemology, Epistemology, Ethics, Ethics, Evidence, Evidence, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophy Tags: Moral Intuitionism, Self-evidence 3 Comments »Ricky Gervais, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, And Ethical Dilemmas In Comedy
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In response to Ricky Gervais’s fervent insistence that he was not mocking religion at the Golden Globes, which I aired earlier this afternoon, Jude takes Gervais to task, as charitably as she can, for not owning up to what he is effectively doing in his act: I’ll begin by saying, as you know Dan, that [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheist Videos, Atheist Videos, Comedy, Comedy, Featured, Hilarious, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Satire, Satire Tags: Bill Maher, Comedy and Politics, Comedy and Religion, George Carlin, Jon Stewart, Louis CK, Ricky Gervais 6 Comments »PZ Myers Video: Science And Atheism Are Natural Allies
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke The first, and most interesting, claim: “Nothing will ever prove that evolution is wrong.” Second, and second most interesting, claim: “Nothing can prove the existence of gods, not one thing.” Third, and third most interesting, claim: that all this entails not closed-mindedness but pragmatism. Fourth, and fourth most interesting, claim: atheism is more than what [...]
Posted in Atheism, Atheism, Atheist Videos, Atheist Videos, Biology, Biology, Evolution, Evolution, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, New Atheism, PZ Myers, PZ Myers, Science 5 Comments »Rachel Maddow Demonstrates How Far To The Right The Country Has Moved In The Last 50 Years
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Rachel doing what she does best, the night after Obama’s State of the Union speech last week: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Your Thoughts?
TOP Q: “Is It Unjust To Outlaw Schools, Even Private Religious Ones, From Teaching Religious Doctrines As Though True?”
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Sweden is planning to make it illegal, even for private schools, to teach religious doctrines as true. Their content may be discussed, of course, but they will not be able to be presented as facts. In The Guardian, Andrew Brown explains the issues involved and the ulterior motives which may really explain the legislation: The [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Creationism, Creationism, Education, Featured, Free Speech, Free Speech, Intelligent Design, Intelligent Design, Law, Law, Law & Politics, Politics, Religion, Religion, Religion and Science, Religious Rights, Religious Rights, Today's Open Philosophical Question (TOP Q) 9 Comments »Ricky Gervais Defends His “Thank God For Making Me An Atheist” Golden Globes Remark
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Here is a full clip of the portion of his recent Piers Morgan interview that dealt with religion: Your Thoughts?
I Have To Completely Rethink My Atheism
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke after hearing the devastating argument in this video: I just don’t know what to think now, guys. Your Thoughts?
What Does It Mean For Pleasure And Pain To Be “Intrinsically Instrumental” Goods?
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke In reply to my post, Pleasure And Pain As Intrinsic Instrumental Goods, James objects: You are defining pleasure as intrinsic instrumental good. This is obviously not intrinsic goodness as I define it at all. Instrumental goodness is not intrinsic goodness. A successful pleasure instance is an intrinsically good instance of pleasure in-itself and for-itself, just for being [...]
Posted in Atheistic Ethics, Atheistic Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Contemporary Ethics, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Metaethics, Metaethics, Moral Psychology, Moral Psychology, Morality, Morality, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Torture, Torture Tags: Instrumental Value, Intrinsic Instrumental Value, Intrinsic Value, Objective Value, Pain, Pleasure, Values 6 Comments »Sundaily Hilarity: Jesus Loves Me On The Saw
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke via Unreasonable Faith. Your Thoughts?
‘Nuff Said Award Winner: Mary Young
January 30th, 2011 Daniel Fincke It’s been well over a year since I’ve felt inclined to give out a ’nuff said award to a commentator, but Mary’s reply to my post on charity, religion, and conservatism definitely qualifies as a comment which deserves its own blog post and needs no further comment from me: The driving force behind what calls [...]
Daily Hilarity: This Week In Unnecessary Censorship
January 29th, 2011 Daniel Fincke This gag never gets old for me: Your Thoughts?
TOP Q: Where Are The Lines Between Peaceable Death Penalty Advocacy And Criminal Incitement?
January 29th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Last week a heinous, conscience-shocking injustice occurred when the brave, openly gay, Ugandan gay rights campaigner David Kato (pictured above) was murdered shortly after a Ugandan newspaper featured him on the cover with the headline: “100 PIctures of Uganda’s Top Homos Leak” and the words “Hang Them” next to it. The AP photo of the newspaper [...]
Posted in Applied Ethics, Applied Ethics, Authoritarianism, Authoritarianism, Bible, Bible, Christopher Hitchens, Christopher Hitchens, Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Ethics, Ethics, Featured, Free Speech, Free Speech, Gay Rights, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Homosexuality, Islam, Islam, Law, Law, Law & Politics, LGBTQAA, Philosophical Ethics, Philosophical Ethics, Politics, Politics, Right Wing Politics, Right Wing Politics, Today's Open Philosophical Question (TOP Q) Tags: Death Penalty, Hate Speech 1 Comment »Hitchens Brings The Most Eloquent Takedown Of The Tea Party Ever
January 29th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Every time I see him speak of late, he only becomes better. It’s almost like the cancer only makes him stronger: Your Thoughts?
Is Facebook For Networking Or Isn’t It?
January 29th, 2011 Daniel Fincke Last year, the week of Easter, atheists all over Facebook changed our pictures to the “scarlet A”, signifying our willingness to stand out and stand up in solidarity with other atheists. “‘A’ Week” was a major event for me since I got the idea of mass-friending people with the A avatars without even realizing there [...]
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