I (J. Hughes) just returned from a wonderful conference on the history and future of the theory of evolution.
Hughes Talk on H+ & Religion top-rated at Thoughtware.tv
To toot my own horn, one of my favorite talks in recent memory was one I gave to the Templeton folks on the compatibility of religion and transhumanism. Andres put it up on Thoughtware.tv, and he wrote to let me know that it has been their top-rated talk there. Listen to it here. The slides associated with that talk are here, and the paper is here.
Russell’s new book project, Voices of Disbelief
IEET Fellow and JET Editor Russell Blackford writes: Udo Schuklenk and I will be co-editing a book, provisionally entitled Voices of Disbelief, which will contain 50 to 60 relatively short essays by prominent people explaining why they are not religious believers - why they don’t accept the existence of the Abrahamic God, or subscribe to other religious doctrines.
Do we want a truly liberal society?
by Russell BlackfordThe goal of a liberal society puts obligations on its citizens, that we practice reasonableness and openness to ideas, that we do not just tolerate one another but support one another to our fullest flourishing. A liberal society is not neutral about values like disease and health, sloth and effort, deceit and integrity, cowardice and courage. There are excellences that citizens of a liberal society must promote to survive. [Discuss this article in IEET Fora]
Fitna and freedom of speech
by Russell BlackfordA controversial (apparently) Dutch parliamentarian, Geert Wilders, has recently released a short film, Fitna, which has been interpreted as a warning against the Islamisation of Europe - and is, on any interpretation, an attack on the content of the Koran.
I’ve delayed commenting until I found some time to watch Fitna. I’ve now seen it.
Intelligent Design Movie Is Not for Heathens
by Russell BlackfordFor all I know, Ben Stein may be Apollo’s gift to the professions of acting and gameshow hosting, and to some of the other odd activities that have come his way from time to time in a long career that’s more varied than the Galapagos finches.
Religion and nanotechnology
by Russell BlackfordNow this story is really weird. Apparently, most Americans reject the morality of nanotechnology on religious grounds.
Rushkoff’s Third Testament Series Graphic Novel Out
Doug Rushkoff’s third installment of the four volume Testament series, Babel, has been released.
Hitchens gets it wrong about Buddhism
by George DvorskyI’ve never really paid much attention to Christopher Hitchens, renowned and reviled critic of all things religious. But when my brother recently brought his anti-Buddhist sentiments to my attention I had to take a closer look.
Does science presuppose naturalism?
by Russell BlackfordEven if it would be possible in principle for intelligent design to be genuine science - notwithstanding its supernatural element - there is no basis to believe that it is genuine science in its current form.
Living with Darwin
by Russell BlackfordI’ve just finished reading Philip Kitcher’s new book, Living with Darwin: Evolution, Design, and the Future of Faith. I unreservedly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the issues mentioned in its sub-title.
Doug’s new course on mass media mind control
IEET Fellow Doug Rushkoff is teaching an online course on mass media and persuasion this Fall through Robert Anton Wilson’s “Maybe Logic Academy.”
Of “God-Blindness” and Absurdity
by Anne CorwinSo, someone has finally come out and asked the question: Joe Carter of “The Evangelical Outpost” inquires, Are Atheists Autistic?
Priestly “Science” and Democratic Politics
by Dale CarricoGiven all the atheist militancy raising a ruckus lately, I suppose it isn’t too surprising that I am stumbling upon more regular and more baldly dismissive declarations these days about the ineradicable incompatibility of science and religion among Science’s self-appointed Elite Champions online.
CCLE Publishes Report on Life Sentences for Cannabis in the U.S.
IEET Fellow Wrye Sententia and her collaborators at the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics have published:
Life Sentences: Collateral Sanctions Associated with Marijuana Offenses
Doug Rushkoff teaching “Technologies of Persuasion”
IEET Fellow Doug Rushkoff reports on his new book project on corporatism and his upcoming class on “technologies of persuasion”.
‘Jesus Camp’ and the art of brainwashing children
by George DvorskyI recently picked up the DVD of Jesus Camp and I let it sit on the shelf for a couple of weeks. I was reluctant to watch it because I knew how upset it would make me.
Poll: Should Ecstasy be legalized?
Yay. Warm empathy feelings all round. Crank up the techno, and hand me a flask of Gatorade.
New poll: What will K-12 education be like in the industrialized North in twenty years?
What would Jesus say about human enhancement?
by George Dvorsky
I don’t normally post overly religious or hyper-conservative arguments that are in opposition to human enhancement (mainly on the grounds that they are far too outside the conversation), but I just caught an article in Christianity Today that I just had to share.
Diagramming Sentences of Value: Evolving Human Rights and the Terms of Geoethical Nanotechnology
by Wrye SententiaTalk at 1st Annual Workshop on Geoethical Nanotechnology, July 20, 2005 by Wrye Sententia, Ph.D., Director, Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethic.
Transhumanism and Unitarian Universalism: Beginning the Dialogue
by J. HughesA sermon on the special compatibility of Unitarian Universalism and transhumanism
Buddhism and Abortion: A Western Approach
by J. HughesIntroduction
I once believed it important to determine the “Buddhist view” on many social and political questions. Today I’m much more circumspect. Buddhist texts offer few coherent views outside of the core doctrinal elements. Consequently, Buddhists, to an even greater degree than most religionists, are required to address contemporary problems in the spirit of their teachings, rather than according to the letter of their law.
In the case of abortion, classical Buddhist texts, from the Pali canon through the Mahayana sutras, offer no specific guidance. Even if there was a specific, classical Buddhist text addressing the moral status of the fetus and the act of abortion, it would not be consistent with “Buddhism” to accept this teaching uncritically. Buddhism encodes with its teachings a reflexive, dynamic, self-critical element, beginning with the Kalama Sutra, which encourages Buddhists not to simply follow scriptures, but to continually adapt the Dharma to new audiences.
Consequently, a Buddhist approach to abortion has more to do with approaching the issue with a characteristic set of concerns, and in dialogue with a vast body of texts and teachers. It therefore comes as little surprise that most Western and Japanese Buddhists come away believing in the permissibility of abortion, while many other Buddhists believe abortion to be murder. In this essay I would like to sketch some of the reasons why most Western Buddhists accept abortion as an unfortunate but necessary part of women’s reproductive health care.
Buddhist Feminism
by J. HughesDrawing upon both the insights of Buddhism and the Western liberal tradition, this essay criticizes established Buddhism’s restrictions on the involvement of women and develops a Buddhist feminist agenda appropriate to our own age and culture.
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