The following was published as a Guest View in the Eugene Register-Guard on 21 Aug 2021 with the title: “Whose morality carries more weight?” I submitted it with the above title. I spent a fair amount of time writing this and I think it’s self-explanatory. As submitted: Saying that an entire class of people isContinue reading “Promoting Unity and Good – Without God”
Category Archives: Tools of Doubt
Equality Rather than Gender (With a Side of J. K. Rowling)
I recently watched an episode of ContraPoints by Natalie Wynn about J. K. Rowling. A friend of mine recommended this YouTube channel and I thought I’d check it out. Since I don’t normally watch these types of commentaries, it is somewhat of a compliment that I actually watched the full 1 ½ hours of it.Continue reading “Equality Rather than Gender (With a Side of J. K. Rowling)”
Equivocation and Faith
The N. Y. Times published an opinion piece by Linda Kinstler titled Can Silicon Valley Find God? Among other things, it includes a common example of an equivocation fallacy used by religious apologists. “It is difficult not to remark upon the fact that many of those beliefs, such as that advanced artificial intelligence could destroyContinue reading “Equivocation and Faith”
Detectives and Abductive Reasoning
Sherlock Holmes is often thought to engage in deductive reasoning. He even says so himself. However, Ivar Fahsing points out in an article on how to think like a detective that what Sherlock did was actually abductive reasoning (in contrast to deductive or inductive reasoning). This surprised me since, even though I am somewhat versedContinue reading “Detectives and Abductive Reasoning”
Metrology Part III – The “soft” sciences are harder than the “hard” sciences.
Keywords: measurement, metrology, reductionism, SI units, reality Recap I’ve had various discussions about science where people have made statements like, “That can’t be measured” and “Science can’t tell us anything about that.” Since I have yet to be presented with a well-defined concept that science is not capable of analyzing (vs. necessarily already having analyzed)Continue reading “Metrology Part III – The “soft” sciences are harder than the “hard” sciences.”
Skeptical Inquirer Publication
Keywords: nonoverlapping magisteria, skepticism, publication, Skeptical Inquirer, Center for Inquiry. CSICON I have an article “Is there a Philosophical Magisterium?” published in the current issue of the Skeptical Inquirer: The Magazine for Science and Reason, Vol. 45 No. 2 | March/April 2021. My article is listed on the front cover. The Skeptical Inquirer is oneContinue reading “Skeptical Inquirer Publication”
Metrology Part II – How do I measure thee? Let me count the ways.
Keywords: measure, measurement, ISO, SI, units, derived units, metrology I’ve had various discussions about science where people have made statements like, “That can’t be measured” and “Science can’t tell us anything about that.” Since I have yet to be presented with a well-defined concept that science is not capable of analyzing (vs. necessarily already havingContinue reading “Metrology Part II – How do I measure thee? Let me count the ways.”
Metrology is not about the weather. Part I – How to weigh a potato
Keywords: philosophy of science, measurement, ISO, NIST, standards, accuracy, precision, philosophical foundations When someone buys a pound of potatoes, how do they know it weighs one pound? A likely answer is that the produce scale said it was. But that assumes the scale is accurate. Is it? And how do we know? The answer toContinue reading “Metrology is not about the weather. Part I – How to weigh a potato”
Is there anything supernatural?
Keywords: philosophy of science, physical reality, philosophical foundations, nonphysical, god, ghosts, ch’i, chakras, soul, spirits, magic There are lots of things that are said to be supernatural; things like ghosts, gods, and magic, to name a few. Can these things truly be supernatural? I’m not the first to come up with or present the typesContinue reading “Is there anything supernatural?”
Liberation of doubt
Keywords: origin of morality, religious privilege, hate, good without god I had another letter to the editor published in the Eugene, OR Register-Guard on Dec 17. It was in response to Michael Gerson (who writes for The Washington Post.) His column, Hope doesn’t depend on us, was published in the Register-Guard on Dec 9. MyContinue reading “Liberation of doubt”
Starting From Doubt 