Thursday 19 April 2012

Burnee links for Thursday

Morality, meaning, hopelessness | Andrew Copson
Andrew's point about a shared definition of morality is relevant to the "moral argument for the existence of God" that's trotted out with monotonous regularity by certain religionists who accept only one definition. We need to make the alternative, humanist, definition more well known.

Victor J. Stenger: Nuthin’ To Explain | Talking Philosophy
I'm with Stenger (and Krauss) on the matter of "nothing". Some have objected to Krauss's book A Universe from Nothing on the basis that the "nothing" he talks about isn't really nothing. But the "nothing" his detractors talk about isn't actually possible — their "nothing" is entirely conceptual like "infinity", and of little practical use. Krauss's "nothing" is therefore the one we should be investigating.

Publication Day | Professor Bruce M. Hood
I shall definitely buy The Self Illusion — I just haven't decided yet on the Kindle version or the paperback.

Speaking truth to apologists | Pharyngula
This is about Jerry Coyne's new paper,"Science, religion, and society: the problem of evolution in America" — not freely downloadable yet, but PZ Myers obviously has access and is therefore able to comment on it.

Dear daughter… | The Murverse
Mur Lafferty writes to her daughter. It strikes a chord as I'm currently reading Does God Hate Women? by Ophelia Benson and Jeremy Stangroom.