Getting random stuff organised
The Problem of Evil — which I prefer to call the Problem of Suffering — is an argument against a particular type of theism. It takes the following form: The argument is logically bulletproof, even if the premises are scaled down considerably. Even a benevolent god who is not omnipotent and omniscient, but merely powerful …
Continue reading “Robots and zombies– is this the silliest theist ‘argument’ of them all?”
Mr Harris? Hello. I’m Sue from the insurance company. I’ve come to value your artwork. Oh, yes, hello. Do come in. What a lovely house you have here! Is this the piece you want valued? That’s it, yes. How much did it cost? No idea. It was here when I moved in. It’s fascinating. How …
Anyone who wants to try and make out a credible case for ‘reincarnation’ has to do at least three things: Either explain how reincarnation is possible under our current understanding of physics, which is based on 400 years of research and literally billions of experiments and observations, or explain how and why our physics is …
Continue reading “What would count as evidence for reincarnation?”
People who make claims about ‘supernatural’ or ‘paranormal’ phenomena often try to dodge their obligation to present evidence by maintaining that these phenomena are ‘non-physical’, and hence can’t be expected to leave physical traces. Obviously this contradicts many of the other claims they make; for instance, if you can see a ‘ghost’ then it must …
Continue reading “How can we test for the occurrence of ‘non-physical’ events?”
The universe certainly started out chaotic, with subatomic particles flying every which way at high speeds. But over time certain things happened: Particles collided. Some of them annihilated each other, some of them bounced apart at lower speeds, having lost energy in the collision, and some of them joined together. Those that joined together began …
Continue reading “Atheists, why is the universe so orderly? Why is everything not just chaotic?”
In courtroom procedure, there is a concept of ‘best evidence’. If you are trying to show that a claim is true, you are obliged to produce the best evidence you can; and if you don’t, then the evidence that you do produce is regarded with scepticism. It implies that something about the ‘best evidence’ would actually damage …
Reports of paranormal phenomena can invariably be explained by the following common, well-supported scientific observations. Coincidences occur. People tell lies. People misinterpret sensory information. People misremember events they were involved in. People recounting remembered events adapt their stories to what others expect or want to hear. People suffer delusions and hallucinations for various reasons, including stress …
Continue reading “How is [alleged paranormal phenomenon] explained scientifically?”
Here’s Jermey’s Wager: If gods don’t exist, there’s nothing to lose by not believing in them. If gods exist and are reasonable, they won’t penalise you for following the evidence and refusing to believe in them. So there’s nothing to lose by not believing in them. If gods exist and are not reasonable, there’s no way of …
Some Christians like to try and make a big deal about the number of professed Christian Nobel Laureates. They usually get their information from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_Nobel_laureates So I decided to do a little analysis. Here’s a chart of Christian Nobel Laureates as a proportion of the total, both on a yearly basis and cumulatively over …
At various times both science and some established religions have argued that the universe is cyclic, and simply goes through the same series of cosmic events over and over again. Another popular scientific theory in the past was that the universe is in a ‘steady state’, with new matter constantly being created at its core. …
Jon's Quora content