Category: Meaning of Life
Why are humans so repulsed by the idea that they are animals?
Why are humans so repulsed by the idea that they are animals? Perhaps “Terror Management Theory” can shine some light on this important issue. When I started this blog in 2006, one idea that motivated me was that human beings simply can’t deal with the idea that they are animals. It seemed to me, based [...]
Bostonians – help Fred Phelps!
Wait, what? Yeah, you heard right. Help Fred Phelps & his Westboro clan of deluded, life-wasting, really-shitty-sign-writing hate-mongers (and their hapless children, for whom I have the greatest sympathy). Joe Brummer has the scoop: Fred Phelps’ clan is coming to Boston! The “God Hates Fags” Westboro Baptist Church is coming to picket the Laramie Project at the [...]
U.S. torture program results in thousands of U.S. deaths
In an interview with The Washington Post, a U.S. Air Force counter-intelligence specialist explains that he was aghast when he saw how the U.S. was continuing to torture prisoners, even after he arrived in 2006. He further learned, based on first-hand interviews he conducted, that the torture committed by the United States in Iraq was [...]
The Clueless Competitor – an ethical dilemma
As you may or may not know, I am a documentary filmmaker working mostly within the very inbred and insular world of bodybuilding. From the local level to the pros, I have covered it all. A few weeks ago I was in New York shooting footage for a new documentary when I stumbled upon a [...]
Paul Kurtz: Belief in God is not essential for moral virtue.
Paul Kurtz is the chairman and founder of the Center for Inquiry and the Editor-in-Chief of FREE INQUIRY Magazine. He is also a prolific author. Kurtz is featured in a Washington Post article entitled, “Belief in God Essential for Moral Virtue?“ This is a succinct article that is well worth reading. Kurtz goes to lengths [...]
Jonathan Haidt urges that we escape moral righteousness
In this lecture on TED, Jonathan Haidt discusses his approach, which involves “five foundations of morality.” Haidt also explains that, in our attempts to better understand morality, too many of us are trapped in a non-ending cycle in which “everybody thinks they are right.” We are in need of humility, and the best way to get moral humility is to escape moral righteousness by striving to step out of the struggle. We need to see that liberals and conservatives both have something to offer to the conversation of change versus stability.
I’ve written repeatedly and glowingly about Haidt’s approach to morality. You can find earlier DI posts regarding Haidt’s approach to morality here and here.
Faith on a Bus
First in London, and now in D.C. The campaign to make it okay to publicly be an atheist is spreading. Now it is right in your face, on buses in two capitol cities. The London group is found at AtheistCampaign.org, and the U.S. campaign is funded by the American Humanists, via WhyBelieveinAGod.org. Both groups are [...]
The Paradox of Positions
As expected, certain mouths are already looking for ways to tear down Obama and all he stands for, even though—perhaps especially because—they don’t know just what that is. It is disheartening. It makes me want to sit them down in a chair from which they cannot move and ask them, over and over again, just [...]
Per The Onion, God clarifies “Do not kill”
According to this 2001 edition of The Onion, God has clarified His Commandment: “Do not kill.” Here’s an excerpt: “I don’t care how holy somebody claims to be,” God said. “If a person tells you it’s My will that they kill someone, they’re wrong. Got it? I don’t care what religion you are, or who [...]
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