Post 49 8/10/2018

  Mental vs
  Physical
  Causation

We know the world via our senses, which are attuned to the physical properties of matter & energy, such as the electro-magnetic frequencies we inter-pret as color, and the tangible differences we sense as texture. But we also infer some non-physical properties via our sixth sense of Reason. . . . .

 Post 46 7/12/2018

  The Moral Arc
  of Science
  and Reason

Like Steven Pinker, in the Better Angels of Our Nature, Shermer thinks that too many people are pessimistic about the notion of moral progress in humanity, and about the prospects for the future of civilization. One indicator of that dark mood is the pounding waves of post-apocalyptic movies . . . .

 Post 43 7/01/2018
 
  Morpho-   genesis

Biologist and Parapsychologist, Rupert Sheldrake's theory of Morphogenesis (origin of form) is similar to my own thesis of Enformationism in many ways. He presents a lot of technical scientific evidence to support his idea that biological evolution is also a product of organizing fields. . . .

Post 42 6/25/2018

Faith
versus
Belief

Faith, in the sense of Hope, Trust, Confidence & Optimism, is a valuable resource for humans facing a world of setbacks and challenges. It motivates perseverance despite delays and difficulties. But the term is also used to denote a particular paradigm or belief system. . . .

 Post 47 7/27/2018

  The Many
  Meanings
  of Life

The "Meaning of Life” in general is a perennial quest for Philosophers and Theologians. Scientists though have no need for universal meaning, and only search for the significance of particular things.  Most western religions claim to have the answer direct from the meaning-giver. . . . .

 Post 41  6/18/2018
               
 Zen and the
 Art of Soul
 Maintenance

In Robert Pirsig's 1974 new-age icon, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, An Inquiry Into Values, he used a motorcycle journey with his son and another couple as a meta-phor for a philosophy of life. . .

 Post 40 6/12/2018
 
  Humanism
  & Deism

Obviously our rapid techno-logical progression from horse & buggy to Mars landers, is due to the pragmatic methods of Science. But Pinker attributes most of the social & moral progress since the Enlighten-ment era to the secular world-view of Humanism. . . .

 Post 44 7/04/2018

  Empirical vs   Theoretical   Science

This dialogue between two scientists on the gray area between Modern /Reductive/ Empirical Science and Post-modern/Holistic/Theoretical Science, is a good example of the quandary addressed by the BothAnd principle. When sincere people agree on the goal, but disagree on the route, . . . .

 Post 45 7/08/2018

  Natural vs   Supernatural   Teleology

Before the advent of modern science, the notion of top-down holistic causation, presumably the will of the gods, was a commonly accepted explanation for how living things gradually change form as they grow from acorn into oak tree. Yet science no longer assumes that gods intervene in natural . . . .

 Post 48 8/04/2018

  Rationalism
  versus
  Fatalism

Human cultures have, from the beginnings of philosophical conjecture, held some concept of a universal principle of natural order that determines the destiny of the world, via some cause & effect system of natural laws or divine commandments. . . . .

Post 50 8/28/18

 Modular Mind
 versus
 Unitary Self

In his book on Evolution and the Modular Mind, Robert  Kurzban follows Daniel Dennett (carte-sian theater) and Marvin Minsky (“society of minds”) in their theory of modular minds. All approach their subject from a materialistic viewpoint, and reject Descartes' dualism . . . .

 Post 52 9/30/2018
 

  Dan Brown’s
  Origin
  Cosmology

The personal worldviews presented in this book, as those of Robert Langdon (agnostic academic) and Edmond Kirsch (atheist scientist), are probably a mashup of Brown's own ambivalent views on Science & Religion. . . .

 Post 51 9/22/2018

  Special   Metaphysics

The philosophical science of Metaphysics is essential to my worldview, because, unlike Physics, it allows us to study the immaterial aspects of reality, like Qualia and Ideas. Such non-things have no objective manifestation, but they do have subjective significance.

 Post 53 10/10/18
 

  Moral
  Philosophies
  

Most people seem to assume that God should have created a more perfect world where “the survival and flourishing of sentient beings “ was the basic principle of natural laws. But, it's obvious to realistic observers that the natural system is neutral, and homo sapiens . . .

 Post 54 10/16/18
 

  Natural vs
  Cultural
  Morality
Moral codes of the world are arrayed in a rainbow of colors, ranging from simple self-interest at one extreme ─ "what's good for me is all that matters" ─ to selfless altruism on the other end of the spectrum ─ "my personal interests must be subordinated to some general good". . . .