Tagged: morality

Moral strawmannery - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Nov 22, 2011 •

• Adolf Hitler,
• Charles Darwin,
• creationism,
• Darwin,
• Darwinism,
• evolution,
• god,
• morality,
• philosophy,
• religion,
• Richard Weikart,
• Sciblogs,
• William Lane Craig

If you have ever searched the internet for a section of text from Darwin’s writings you will have noticed that most of the links that come up are to creationist websites and blogs. What we are seeing is simple dishonest … Continue reading → … Read More

Rational morality - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Nov 03, 2011 •

• agnostic,
• agnosticism,
• atheism,
• belief,
• Bible,
• Christian apologetics,
• Christianity,
• divine commands,
• ethics,
• evolution,
• faith,
• god,
• human rights,
• morality,
• religion,
• Religion and Spirituality,
• Sciblogs,
• Scott Clifton,
• YouTube

Here’s a great video. It’s not short (31 mins) but its well worth watching right through – or downloading and watching later. Even watching several times, the speaker is so eloquent and precise with his language. In it Scott Clifton … Continue reading → … Read More

Outsourcing moral decisions to justify genocide - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Oct 27, 2011 •

• Christianity,
• Dawkins,
• divine command theory,
• divine commands,
• god,
• Joseph Stalin,
• morality,
• New Zealand,
• objecitvely-based morality,
• objective morality,
• Outsourcing,
• philosophy,
• Pol Pot,
• religion,
• Richard Dawkins,
• Sciblogs,
• Stalin,
• William Lane Craig

A while back I participated in a discussion involving a number of non-theists and theists. You can guess which side I was on. But I bore no ill feelings to the theists – and why should I have? These discussions … Continue reading → … Read More

Approaching morality scientifically - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Oct 12, 2011 •

• agnostic,
• agnosticism,
• atheism,
• belief,
• Coyne,
• evolution,
• god,
• Jerry Coyne,
• morality,
• philosophy,
• religion,
• Richard Dawkins,
• Sam Harris,
• Sciblogs,
• science of morality,
• supernatural,
• superstition,
• theology

In his recent criticism of Jerry Coyne’s* USA Today article As atheists know, you can be good without God, local theologian Matt Flannagan repeats his rather tiresome warning that scientists should not try to understand morality – “leave that to us … Continue reading → … Read More

Ethicists have problems with ethics! - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Oct 11, 2011 •

• Christianity,
• Ethicist,
• ethics,
• evolution,
• morality,
• morals,
• philosophy,
• politics,
• Professor,
• religion,
• Religion and Spirituality,
• Sciblogs,
• science of morality,
• supernatural,
• superstition

I picked up this article recently – The Self-Reported Moral Behavior of Ethics Professors. So I couldn’t help laughing when I came across this other one – When Scientists Make Bad Ethicists. A title like “When Scientists Make Bad Scientists” … Continue reading → … Read More

That’s what I like to see in a young woman! - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Sep 07, 2011 •

• belief,
• book review,
• child abuse,
• diversity,
• evolution,
• human rights,
• morality,
• philosophy,
• Private school,
• religion,
• Sciblogs,
• State school

Recently, I have been debating with some of the theologically inclined the question of religious privilege in a secular society and the funding of private religious schools. Coincidentally I came across an internet post which illustrates one of the problems … Continue reading → … Read More

‪Videos on morality - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Jul 31, 2011 •

• atheism,
• belief,
• Bible,
• ethics,
• god,
• morality,
• religion,
• Religion and Spirituality,
• Sciblogs,
• YouTube

I often discuss a scientific approach to morality‪ because I find this an interesting and developing field. However, morality is still sometimes linked in the public mind with religion, so it’s worth actually considering those religious arguments. QualiaSoup is currently … Continue reading → … Read More

Pat Churchland on the science of morality - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Jul 28, 2011 •

• belief,
• Braintrust,
• ethics,
• evolution,
• Moral relativism,
• morality,
• Neuroscience,
• Patricia Churchland,
• philosophy,
• religion,
• Sam Harris,
• Sciblogs,
• The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values

A few months ago there was a flurry of attention around Sam Harris’s book The Moral Landscape and lectures he gave around the time of its publication. A lot of it critical – but not all. I thought the value … Continue reading → … Read More

Terror in Norway - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Jul 24, 2011 •

• belief,
• Christianity,
• morality,
• New York City,
• New Zealand,
• news,
• Norway,
• Oslo,
• religion,
• Sciblogs,
• terrorism,
• Utøya,
• War on Terrorism,
• Warfare and Conflict

The bombing and mass murder in Oslo and Utøya, Norway, are both a shock and a surpise. How could the terrorist be so inhuman? And why Norway, usually considered one of the most sensible countries in the world? Maybe we … Continue reading → … Read More

Is there a role for science in morality? - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Apr 28, 2011 •

• belief,
• ethics,
• god,
• Moral Landscape,
• morality,
• philosophy,
• religion,
• Sam Harris,
• Sciblogs,
• science of morality,
• supernatural,
• superstition,
• The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values,
• tradition

In our discussion of the science of morality commenters often assert that science may be able to describe why and how we are moral but it cannot make moral decisions for us. Or tell us what is right and wrong. … Continue reading → … Read More