Category Archives: Thinking

Deciding What Is True

Posted on Monday 20 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

First [reposted from my Facebook page], a fascinating article in The Atlantic (via Andrew Sullivan) about how Rush Limbaugh decides what is true. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/how-rush-limbaugh-decides-what-is-true/283078/ Essentially, if someone is a conservative (the example is Clarence Thomas), Limbaugh *knows* they are innocent … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Thinking | Comments Off on Deciding What Is True

End of 2013 Links and Comments

Posted on Saturday 4 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s been busy over the holidays, with family events and whatnot, so here is a belated list of links and comments from the past couple weeks. Salon: 10 signs that religious fundamentalism is going down One could hope. Religious fundamentalism … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Religion, Science, Thinking | Comments Off on End of 2013 Links and Comments

Hitchens and the Speculative End of Religion

Posted on Wednesday 18 December 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

There have been several online articles in recent days about Christopher Hitchens, author of god is not great [lower cases intentional], who died just two years ago. Jerry Coyne checks in on rival takes on Christopher Hitchens, both on Salon, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Thinking | Comments Off on Hitchens and the Speculative End of Religion

Awe

Posted on Wednesday 18 December 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a story that’s gotten some attention this past week — reports that when people look at awesome scenery, like the Grand Canyon, they are more inclined to attribute them to God (whatever that means). www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-hutson/awe-increases-religious-belief_b_4423247.html The emotion of awe … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Religion, Thinking | Comments Off on Awe

Getting Along without Knowing

Posted on Sunday 8 December 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Interesting interview with Patricia Churchland, UCSD ‘neurophilosopher’ in Slate today, originally from New Scientist, about the dismay some people feel at the notion that, to quote the interview’s intro, “our hopes, loves and very existence are just elaborate functions of … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Psychology, Science, Thinking | Comments Off on Getting Along without Knowing

Why People Believe in Conspiracies

Posted on Tuesday 19 November 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

With the JFK 50th anniversary upon us, there have been numerous stories lately about this. Here’s one in Slate that wonders why so many people are so taken by outlandish conspiracy theories. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/11/conspiracy_theory_psychology_people_who_claim_to_know_the_truth_about_jfk.html How can this be? How can so … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Lunacy, Thinking | Comments Off on Why People Believe in Conspiracies

Connor Wood on Atheists

Posted on Friday 18 October 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

The perspicacious Connor Wood, at Science on Religion, asks Why Are There Atheists?. That is, since the vast majority of humanity subscribes to one variety of faith or another, how is it that atheists exist at all? Are they some … Continue reading →

Posted in Quote at Length, Religion, Thinking | Comments Off on Connor Wood on Atheists

Review of David McRaney’s You Are Now Less Dumb, part 1

Posted on Monday 14 October 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

David McRaney’s second book, YOU ARE NOW LESS DUMB, extends the themes of his first book, in greater depth — there are 17 chapters in some 300 total pages, compared to 48 shorter chapters in the first book. And it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Thinking | Comments Off on Review of David McRaney’s You Are Now Less Dumb, part 1

Review of David McRaney’s You Are Not So Smart

Posted on Monday 14 October 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

As I mentioned in a Facebook post last night, without bookstores to browse through, I discover titles and authors I might not otherwise have seen most often through web excerpts and interviews — at sites like Slate and Salon, Huffington … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Thinking | Comments Off on Review of David McRaney’s You Are Not So Smart

Odds and Ends, 23Sep13

Posted on Monday 23 September 2013 by Mark R. Kelly

Scientific American has this Michael Shermer essay about struggling with motivated reasoning– http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-we-should-choose-science-over-beliefs Give him credit — he struggles with ideological convictions in the light of evidence, and changes his mind. But finds that others at a Libertarian conference are … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Science, Thinking | Comments Off on Odds and Ends, 23Sep13