I am an atheist, and I care about the way non-religious belief is communicated by atheists to the public. Over the years, I have become increasingly disappointed with the way atheists explain our origins to the public. In the future, I hope that we stop underselling how much science knows about “how we got here.”
Read MoreWelcome to the Strange World of Ken Ham
Ken Ham is a Young-Earth Creationist (YEC) and president of the Creation Museum. On August 29th he released a response video to Bill Nye's viral Big Think video re: the dangers of teaching creationism to children. Within his response we get a chance to dissect what it is YEC think about science, scientists and education.
Read MoreWhy New Religions?
Despite the recent global decline in traditional religious belief, new religious movements (NRMs) have grown significantly over the past 50 years. Why have they become such a dominant cultural force in the western world? And what can be done to reduce their continued growth?
Read MoreThe God Hypothesis
God is essentially a hypothesis. Throughout human history all populations assumed that the hypothesis was true (i.e., God exists). However, during the scientific revolution and enlightenment, humans were able to test The God Hypothesis for the first time. And it crumbled.
Read MoreEvolutionary Thought Pre-Darwin pt. 1
Intellectuals have been discussing the idea of biological evolution for much longer than is generally believed. Evolutionary thought has its roots in ancient Eurasian intellectual traditions and was widely discussed for centuries before the rise of Christianity.
Read MoreGlobal Religiosity
A recent global religiosity and atheism survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center. The results indicate that overall religious belief is declining and atheism is growing. However, most humans on the planet still adhere to a religion and that belief seems to be dependent on a number of predictable variables.
Read MoreCreationism in Public Schools
Creationism is still commonly taught in biology classrooms throughout North America. Several states teach it 'along side' evolution. What role should religion play in public school? And specifically how should biology teachers approach creationist philosophy in class?
Read MoreDisrespecting Social Theory
A recent Gallup poll revealed that belief in creationism has not declined over the past few decades. The majority of scientists have responded to this as a disturbing trend. However, a few social scientists have pointed out that this trend may have more to do with cultural identity than it does with rejection of scientific facts. In an analysis of an article regarding this issue the battle between these two perspectives is dissected.
Read MoreHow Do Chimpanzees Mourn Their Dead?
Humans have complex rituals associated with the death another human being. These rituals may be culturally dependent but it is also a characteristic trait for our entire species. Do our closest relatives have rituals related to the death of another chimpanzee? Do they understand what death is? Do they understand that life is finite? And perhaps most importantly, what can their reaction to death tell us about the evolution of our own behaviour re: death.
Read MoreA Historically Contingent Discrimination
Over the past few decades western society has made great strides to eradicate discriminatory practices and policies directed towards non-heterosexuals. However, we have to understand why this was even necessary in the first place. Why did people throughout the western world discriminate against non-heterosexuals? Is it inherently human to discriminate against those who are different? Or is this behaviour culturally dependent? Understanding the answers to these questions can better contextualize the currently LGBT rights movement.
Read MoreThe Discontinuous Mind
Humans are programmed to think discontinuously. As a result we have trouble conceptualizing anything that does not have a clear and easily defined start and end. Evolutionary educators must understand that this is a fundamental reason why evolutionary thought and the theory for evolution in general meets so much skepticism and incredulity. In order to better educate people regarding evolution we must first educate people about the discontinuous mind and how it relates to understanding evolutionary theory.
Read More