Principles of Parsimony

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:36:00 +0000

So, the more observant of you may have noticed this site has been quiet for the last two years. I guess I've said most of what I felt I had to say. However I am doing other things on the internet:

You can find my reviews and recommendations of fantasy books at Good Fantasy Books.

You can find my guide on how to install a graphics card (something that I would have found very useful the first time I ever tried to install one) at, unsurprisingly, How to Install a Graphics Card.

I may post things here occasionally in the future if a topic particularly interests me - I may not. I guess we'll see.

Cool Atheist Music 8 - Bad Religion - God Song

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:35:00 +0000

Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks. Turns out this PhD thing takes up a lot of your time! We now return you to your normal blogging service, with a slightly delayed cool atheist music.

This week's cool atheist music is again from Bad Religion - it's a great acoustic version of one of their classics. If you want to hear the original, complete with raging guitar, it's here.

If anyone has any ideas for cool atheist music feel free to contribute, and hopefully this series can become a little more regular! For previous posts in this series, see here.

Cockatoos are awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:03:00 +0000

Enough said.

Cool Atheist Music 7 - John Lennon - Imagine

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:48:00 +0000

The classic.

If anyone has any ideas for cool atheist music feel free to contribute, and hopefully this series can become a little more regular! For previous posts in this series, see here.

A Great Quote

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:32:00 +0000

Whilst reading Philip K. Dick's somewhat odd, yet fascinating essay How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days, I came across this great quote:

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.

He says it's the best definition he can come up with, and I have to say I can't think of any better. It explains nicely how religion has (in general) moved away from trying to assert its authority by making grand claims about the physical state of the world, and has instead focused on ethical issues such as homosexuality - the world isn't going to go away, it's going to come and bite you in the ass if you believe stupid things about it. However, ethics are simply a human construct, and as such there is no absolute 'reality' that can turn up and show statements to be obviously wrong (You can show the claimed foundations of the ethical structure are wrong, but that's a different story).

New Carnivals Up

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:01:00 +0000

The Humanist Symposium #9 and Boneyard #7 are both now up, and feature some of my posts along with a load of other great reading material. Go check them out!

I thought this type of thing only happened in America?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:27:00 +0000

I'm actually quite shocked by this report from last week's Conservative conference by The Lancashire Secular Humanists:

As John Gummer [Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal] came upon the British Humanist Association’s campaign stand in the exhibitors gallery at the Winter Gardens this afternoon he was clearly heard to say to his companion “Do you know there is nothing I hate more than these Humanists”.

He then launched into a loud abusive rant in which he complained that The British Humanists Association “had no right to be here” and; with spittle-filled passion he pointed his finger at startled BHA members and declared “The Conservative Party is and always has been a Christian Party” (big emphasis on ‘Christian’) before turning on his heels and storming off without giving those volunteers (me included) an opportunity to respond.

So, there you go - John Gummer: complete raving bigot. That's the way to challenge Tory stereotypes alright :| I'm just hoping he's in a minority of one, and that the Conservatives get rid of him quickly - he's an embarrassment.

There's a discussion of this over at the Suffolk Humanists - apparently he denies everything. What a surprise.

Via Feeding the Fish.

More Hypocrisy from Religious Figures: Who'd've thought it?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:50:00 +0000

I notice one of the most strident voices opposing the new offence against incitement to homophobic hatred in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill is Colin Hart, Director of the conservative evangelical Christian Institute. Here's what he said:

“In a democratic society people must be free to express their beliefs without fear of censure. A homophobic hatred law would be used by those with an axe to grind against Christians to silence them. There has already been high profile cases of the police interfering with free speech and religious liberty regarding sexual ethics. People shouldn’t face prison for expressing their sincerely-held religious beliefs.”

He's really giving the old free speech defence some welly isn't he? Apropos of nothing much, here's Colin Hart back in 2005 on Jerry Springer: The Opera:

"The BBC has a duty to respect the religious beliefs of its viewers... Genuine religious debate and criticism is one thing, but this show is an offensive, spiteful, systematic mockery and wilful denigration of Christian belief."

He then promptly called for a judicial review of its screening. What - use the law to silence something he disagrees with? But he's so keen on free speech! I'll remind you of that quote again: "In a democratic society people must be free to express their beliefs without fear of censure."

That's what makes me so angry about so many religious public figures. They're not actually interested in free speech, or any consistent set of moral principles. What they're interested in is using the law to bully people into not saying anything they don't like, whilst hiding behind the law as soon as anyone says anything nasty about them. "Don't hate us, but it's fine for us to hate you." They're disingenuous, self-interested hypocrites. It's pathetic.

Cool Atheist Music 6 - Nine Inch Nails - Heresy

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:29:00 +0000

This week's cool atheist music comes from Nine Inch Nails, and was suggested by esaul17. It should suit those who like their atheism angry, with a shouty chorus.

If anyone has any ideas for cool atheist music feel free to contribute, and hopefully this series can become a little more regular! For previous posts in this series, see here.

Cephalopods, mosasaurs, and Cretaceous parenting

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:47:00 +0000

Typical. You go away on holiday, you come back, and it's International Cephalopod Awareness Day. And me with nothing to wear, and shoes that don't match my dress, and a handbag that's so last season... anyway, moving swiftly on, back to the cephalopods.

As any palaeontologist worth his (or her) salt knows, the ultimate cephalopods are ammonoids and nautiloids. Whilst taking my MSci I briefly studied these fantastic beasties, completing a three month research project on predation on ammonoids. During my studies, I came across this fascinating research paper (Kaufmann 2004), detailing a mosasaur attack on a Cretaceous nautiloid. In this paper Kaufmann presents a nautiloid (Argonautilus catarinae) recovered in San Diego county, California (image below).

As you can see the nautiloid has three large puncture marks (indicated AT in the figure), and five smaller ones (indicated JT). From the size and spacing of these puncture marks Kaufmann infers them to be mosasaur bite marks, most likely from Mosasaurus or Platycarpus. The smaller punctures form a separate bite, and precede the larger punctures making up the second bite. This second bite most likely killed the nautiloid and caused it to sink, penetrating the flotation and living chamber. Kaufmann argues that these bites consist of two mosasaurs of the same species, an adult and a juvenile.

Evidence from the pattern of bite marks in ammonites implies a learned mosasaur behavior pattern of blind-side attack of the prey first, followed by positioning bites using both the stabbing and pterygoid teeth, followed by one or more bites across the living chamber of the ammonite designed to rip the prey animal out of the shell to consume it. Combining these two lines of evidence, Kaufmann paints a picture of a mother mosasaur teaching the child the best way to tackle this food source. So from this specimen (and with only minor speculation!) we have inferred not only part of an ecosystem, but part of a mode of life, and maybe part of the parent-child dynamic also.

And that's what's so fascinating about palaeontology. This vignette played itself out millions of years ago - not only are its individual actors long dead, but so are their entire species. And yet from a small fragment of rock we can reconstruct so much of their lives. From that rock, just for a moment, we too can swim in the Cretaceous seas, can envisage a life far removed from our own, infer its dramas and imbibe of its wonder.

Amazing.

References:

KAUFFMAN, ERLE G. Mosasaur Predation on Upper Cretaceous Nautiloids and Ammonites from the United States Pacific Coast Palaios 2004 19: 96-100

Normal blogging service is resumed

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:50:00 +0000

I got back from holiday yesterday, and started* my PhD today, so things have been hectic. But I'm back now, and thanks for your patience in putting up with the week's break (And if you didn't, well, you won't be reading this, so, um, hahaha, you smell.). I've got some cool pictures of a snake I nearly stood on, and of what happens when flying ants decide to combine their yearly emergence and search for a new home with high tide whilst living on a beach (It's not pretty). Sadly what I do not currently appear to have is a camera lead to transfer these pictures, but when I do I'll post them up. And with that rambling over, we return you to your normal viewing.

* For a given value** of 'started'.
** The value that means 'The stupid registry claimed they didn't have my references even though they were e-mailed months ago and so I had to go home at lunch to sort it out and so got nothing done.'***
*** Sigh.

A brief blogging break

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:06:00 +0000

I'm off on holiday until next weekend, so there'll be no updates for the next week. Until then, treat this blog as your own, browse through the back archives, submit posts to Digg :), etc. See you in a week.

A Pleasant Surprise

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:04:00 +0000

Whilst reading an article by Simon Barnes in the Times about the problems facing Test cricket, I was pleasantly surprised by the following paragraph:

But let’s not talk about evolution. That only confuses things. The use of Darwinian theory to explain and justify changes in human society is one of the greatest misunderstandings in philosophical history. Evolution is not a march of progress, it does not reach a goal of perfection and, for the record, neither humankind nor a single certain human race is the crown of creation.

And that's why he's my favourite sports writer.

Cool Atheist Music 5 - Bad Religion - God's Love

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:48:00 +0000

This week's cool atheist music comes from Bad Religion. I was going to pick their track "Materialist" off the Process of Belief, which is more of a positive view of naturalism and atheism, but it appears that it hasn't been uploaded to the interwebs yet. So here's "God's Love" off the Empire Strikes First, on the problem of evil.

Incidentally, there were about 20 or 30 Bad Religion songs I could have picked - if you like punk rock and atheism, you really should check them out. And their lead singer (Greg Graffin) has a PhD in evolutionary biology. Amazing.

If anyone has any ideas for cool atheist music feel free to contribute, and hopefully this series can become a little more regular! For previous posts in this series, see here.

70th Skeptic's Circle now up

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:28:00 +0000

The 70th Skeptic's Circle is now up over at The Conspiracy Factory, and it appears I'm scheduled for elimination because I know too much. Seems like I'd better start checking under my car for explosive devices...

Oh wait, I don't have a car. That's alright then. They'll never get me!

The Atheist Blogroll, and Bookmarking

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:59:00 +0000

I've decided to jump on the atheist blogroll posting bandwagon, and post the Atheist Blogroll to give our collective authority a boost (thanks to jwhaws at The Atheocracy for showing me how).

I've also decided to add a bookmarking button to the bottom of every post. Now, if you like a post you can click on the button and tell the social bookmarking service of your choice how great it is. Go on, you know you want to!

2 Intellectual Atheists
A Daily Dose of Doubt
A Human Mind
A Load of Bright
A Night on the Tiles
A Veritable Plethora
A Whore in the Temple of Reason
A-Deistic
AA
Aardvarchaeology
AASAUF
About: Agnosticism / Atheism
Abstract Nonsense
Aces Full of Links
acrylic.
Action Skeptics
AEsahaettr
After Faith
Agnostic Atheism
aidan maconachy blog
Ain’t Christian
Al-Kafir Akbar!
Alien Atheist
Am I mad, or is the world?
Amused Muse
An Enlightened Observer
Angels Depart
Angry Astronomer
Arcis Logos
Ateistbloggen
Atheism is the Rational Response
Atheism Online
atheism | simra.net
Atheism: Proving The Negative
Atheist Blogs Aggregated
Atheist Ethicist
Atheist Ethics
Atheist Father
Atheist Girl
Atheist Housewife
Atheist Hussy
Atheist Movies
Atheist Revolution
Atheist Says What
Atheist Self
Atheisthought
atheistperspective.com
AtheisTube
Austin Atheist Anonymous
Author of Confusion
Axis of Jared
Aye!
Ayrshire Blog
Babble, bullshit, blasphemy and being.
Bay of Fundie
Beaman’s World
Beep! Beep! It’s Me.
Ben’s Place
Bert’s Blog
Bible Study for Atheists
biblioblography
Bill’s View
Bitchasaurus
bits of starstuff
Bjorn & Jeannette’s Blog
Black Sun Journal
Bligbi
Blogue de Mathieu Demers
blurp
Bob Kowalski
Born Again Atheist
brainstorms
brokencats
Buridan’s Ass
By The Book Comics
Can’t make a difference
CaroLINES
CHADMAC Speaks
Christian Follies
CHRISTIAN PWNAGE 101
Church of Integrity
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Circular Reasoning
Cogita Tute - Think For Yourself
Coming Out Godless
Complete Materialist
Confessions of an Anonymous Coward
Cosmic Variance
Crazy Christian Chain Emails
Culture for all
Daily Atheist
DAILY BBG
Dark Christianity
Dark Side of Mars
Darwin’s Dagger
Daylight Atheism
Debunking Christianity
Deep Thoughts
Deeply Blasphemous
Desperately Seeking Ethics and Reason
Deus ex Absurdum
DEVOUT Atheist Godless Grief
Die Eigenheit
Dime a dozen
disambiguation
discernible chaos
Disgusted Beyond Belief
Dispatches from the Culture Wars
do not read this blog
Dr. Joan Bushwell’s Chimpanzee Refuge
Drunken Tune
Dubito Ergo Sum
Duplicitous Primates
Dwindling In Unbelief
Edifying Spectacle
Edward T. Babinski
Elaine Vigneault
EnoNomi
evanescent
Everyday Atheism
Everyday Humanist
Everything Is Pointless
Evolution
EvolutionBlog
ExChristian.Net
Expired Convictions
Explicit Atheist
Feersum Endjinn
Fish Wars on Cars
Five Public Opinions
Flex Your Head
Flumadiddle
Free Mind Joe
FreeThought by a FreeThinker
Freethought vs. Friel-Thought
Freethought Weekly
Friendly Atheist
FVThinker
Genesis-fel
Geoff Arnold
Gimme Back My God!
God is for Suckers!
God is Pretend
godisajoke.com
Godless Kiwi
Godless on the Wasatch Front
godlessgeek
goldbricker
Goosing the Antithesis
Gospel of Reason
Gratuitous Common Sense
Greg Hartnett
Happy Jihad’s House of Pancakes
Hayleys Paranormal Blog
Hellbound Alleee
hell’s handmaiden
High Maintenance Hags
Honjii’s Harangues
Human Psyche of J.D. Crow
Ice Station Tango
In Defence Of Reason
Incessant Expressions
INFIDELIS MAXIMUS
Infophilia
Inkblot Icon
Interesting
Irked off
Jewish Atheist
Judith’s thought-provoking hard-hitting journal
K H A L A S !
Kill The Afterlife
King Aardvark
Lary Crews
Le Contestataire
le tiers monde
leaping rabbit/lapin sauteur
Leicester Secularist
Let There Be Light
Letters from a broad
Life & Otherwise
Life is an adventure
Life Without Faith
Life, the Universe and Everything
Lifecruiser
Living with Missy and other thoughts
LOL god
Look at the Bright’s Side
Lord J-Bar For Democracy, Not Theocracy
louis’ blog
Love the Nimbu
Lubab No More
lynn’s daughter, thinking
Masala Skeptic
Matt’s Notepad
Mechanical Crowds
mediawatchwatch.org.uk
Meet An Atheist
Memoirs of a (G)a(y)theist
Memoirs of an ex-Christian
Midwest Atheist
Migrations
Mike’s Weekly Skeptic Rant
mindcore
MINISTER OF RANTS
Misc. Musing
mister jebs blog
Modern Agnostic
Modern Atheist
My Case Against God
My Elemental Muse
My Life Thinly Disguised as Groove
Nanovirus
Naturalistic Atheism
Neural Gourmet
New Humanist Blog
NewAthei.st
Nicest Girl and Destroyer of Planets
No Double Standards
No More Hornets
No more Mr. Nice Guy!
NoGodBlog.com
Non Credo Deus
Non-Prophet
North Alabama Rant
Nothing Is Sacred
Nullifidian
olio
One Fewer God
onegoodmove
Onion Breath
Onwards and Forwards
Open Parachute
Outchurched
Oz Atheis’s Weblog
parenthetical remarks
Pharyngula
Philosophers’ Playground
physicshead
Pink Prozac
Pinoy Atheist
Planet Atheism
Pooflingers Anonymous
Primordial Blog
Principles of Parsimony
Prose Justice
Psychodiva’s Mutterings
QuarkScrew
Quintessential Rambling
Ramblings of an Atheist Undergrad
Random Intelligence
Rank Atheism
Re-imagine Ritual
Reeding and Writing
Religion is Bullshit !
REV. ART’S ATHEIST PIN-UPS!
Rev. BigDumbChimp
Richard Carrier Blogs
Rideo ergo sum
Robert’s Thought’s
Ron’s Rants
Rupture the Rapture
Russell’s Teapot
RWANDAN ATHEIST
Saint Gasoline
Salient
Sans God
Scientia Natura
SDARI
Sean the Blogonaut
Secular Humanism with a human face
See For Yourself
Shared Difference
Silly Humans
Skeptic Rant
Skeptical Personal Development
Skeptico
Skepticum
So long, and thanks for all the guilt!
Son Shines Zee 365
Southern Atheist
Stardust Musings and Thoughts for the Freethinker
Staring At Empty Pages
stereoroid.com
Steven Carr’s Blog
Strange Land
Strappado
Summer Squirrel
Talk Reason
Talking to Theists
Tangled Up In Blue Guy
Tarpan’s Blog
Televangelists with Toupees
Terahertz - From Physics to Life
Thank God I’m An Atheist
The Affable Atheist
The Allen Zone
The Angry Atheist
The Anonymous Atheist
The Apostate
The Ateist Endeavor
the atheist chronicles
The Atheist Effect
The Atheist Experience
The Atheist Jew
The Atheist Mama
The Atheist Resistance
The Atheocracy
The Atheologist
The Bach
The Blasphemous
The Blog of M’Gath
The Cat Ranch
The Chronicles of Gorthos
The Conscious Earth
The Daily Cat Chase
The Eternal Gaijin
The Flying Bagpiper
The Flying Trilobite
The Fundy Post
The Gay Black Jew
The Godless Grief
The Good Atheist
The Great Realization
The Greenbelt
The Happy, Religion Free Family
The Homeless Atheist
The Honest Doubter
The Humanist Observer
The Incomer
The Jesus Myth
The Jewish Atheist
The Labour Humanist
The Libertarian Defender
The Lippard Blog
the LITTLE things
The Mary Blog
The Nate and Di Show
The Natural Skeptic
The New Atheist
The New Horizon
The O Project
The One With Aldacron
The Pagan Prattle Online
The Panda’s Thumb
The People’s Republic Of Newport
the post-bicameral mind
The Questionable Authority
The Rad Guy Blog
The Raving Atheist
the right of reason
the Science Ethicist
The Science Pundit
The Second Mouses Guide to Life
The Second Oldest Question
The Secular Outpost
The Secular-Man Blog (An Oasis of Clear Thinking)
The Serenity of Reason
The shadows of an open mind
The Skeptic Review
the skeptical alchemist
The Strong Atheist
The Thermal Vent
The Uncredible Hallq
The Underground Unbeliever
The Uninformed Suburban Housewife
The Uninspired Manifesto
The Zen Of G
These Twisted Times
They Promised Us Jetpacks and We Got Blogs
Thought Theater
toomanytribbles
Toxic thought waste site
UberKuh
Uncouth.net
Ungodly Cynic
Unscrewing The Inscrutable
Uri Kalish - Urikalization
Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy
Vetenskap & F?rnuft
View From Earth
Villa Nandes
Wanderin’ Weeta
Way of the Mind
Why Dont You Blog?
Wild-Eyed Atheist Boy
Without Gods
WORKS WITHOUT FAITH
Writer Philosopher Culture Warrior
Yet Another Blog
You Made Me Say It
Young Earth Creationists Anonymous
Zeemy’s Paradigm
Zen Curmudgeon
zenbullets
“Atheism Sucks” sucks

Where I despair that people can think the Catholic Church a force for good in the world

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:55:00 +0000

The BBC reports that the head of the Catholic Church in Mozambique has claimed that some European-made condoms are infected with HIV deliberately.

"Condoms are not sure because I know that there are two countries in Europe, they are making condoms with the virus on purpose. They want to finish with the African people. This is the programme. They want to colonise until up to now. If we are not careful we will finish in one century's time." - Archbishop Chimoio

Is there any lie they won't tell in their vendetta against small pieces of latex?

Dicing with Death

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:38:00 +0000

Not until now did I realise how close to death I came in my days punting in Cambridge. The BBC report that viruses sourced from the River Cam may be useful in treating antibiotic resistant diseases:

A "cocktail" of special viruses which kill bacteria were sourced from the river and shown to treat bacterial stomach infections in mice.

That's right - the River Cam: so nasty, even the bacteria can't cut it. Still, at least at Cambridge we never broke our legs when we jumped in, unlike at Oxford...

via The Ethical Palaeontologist

The Meaning of Life. Or, do theists ever even talk to atheists?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:51:00 +0000

The above video is an advert for the Alpha Course (A course taught by churches that aims to introduce people to Christianity), that has recently been showing on UK television. It features a man and a woman traveling along a conveyor belt from birth to death, and ends abruptly with their being buried in a coffin. A tag line of "Is there more to life than this?" appears, with the obvious implication that no, this isn't all there is - come along and we'll tell you about all this other great stuff that will add meaning and joy to your life.

This has always been something that's confused me about theists - the view that without God there can be no meaning, and its corollary that all atheists go around in a perpetual depressed state, despairing at the pointlessness of existence, and wishing there was some way to add meaning to their lives. Where do they get this idea from? Have they ever actually talked to any atheists about this? I don't know a single atheist who has such a depressing view of life. The view that a life without God is pointless seems to only be held, funnily enough, by those who hold that God is the point of life.

So this argument cannot be taken directly from their experience of atheists, but where does it come from? It seems to me that there are two main strands of reasoning theists use to come to this conclusion. The first is that God, as an absolute omnipotent being, is the only source of an absolute meaning for the universe, and by his action our lives are given meaning. What meaning? Well, whatever he wants - to 'give greater glory to God' seems to be a fairly standard Christian answer when confronted with the question of meaning. This view, that meaning can only ever be imposed from the outside, seems to me to be a pessimistic, limiting, and (dare I say it) depressing conclusion. We make our own meaning in this life - we can choose what we are here for, and I find this far more worthy of celebrating than the forced imposal of another's will on our life. I certainly do not find it depressing. Look on it as a choice between admiring the works of another painter, or being given an easel, a canvas and a palette and told to paint what you want - I know which I would find the more liberating.

The second argument concerns death, and follows the lines of "Well, if you're just going to die at the end and that's it, what's the point of doing anything anyway?". I've been in churches where the preacher has stated he can't "understand why atheists grieve when someone dies, if that's all there is to life?". This approach confuses me even more. I cannot understand why theists can't realise that if once you die, you are gone completely, then that is even more of a reason to a) mourn someone's passing, and b) value both your and other people's lives more while you and they can live them, as opposed to how you would feel if you treated life as just a rest stop on the way to eternal bliss. The second part of the argument appears to be based on the assertion that if life has no permanence, then nothing we do can last, and things that do not last are worthless. I find this statement frankly bizarre. What has permanence to do with meaning, with emotion, with joy? I'll leave it to Tennyson to sum up my objections to this one:

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

-Alfred Lord Tennyson. In Memoriam, 1850

Thanks Alf.

Finally, and on the subject of death, I'd like to give another great 19th century figure, Thomas Huxley, the final word and reproduce an extract from his letter to Charles Kingsley, written 147 years ago, almost to the day, after the death of his son from scarlet fever. Before theists start preaching on the meaningless and nihilism of atheism, this passage at least should be required reading - I defy you to read this extract and tell me that it requires God to feel sorrow and joy, and to give life meaning. Over to Huxley:

As I stood behind the coffin of my little son the other day, with my mind bent on anything but disputation, the officiating minister read, as a part of his duty, the words, "If the dead rise not again, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." I cannot tell you how inexpressibly they shocked me. Paul had neither wife nor child, or he must have known that his alternative involved a blasphemy against all that was best and noblest in human nature. I could have laughed with scorn. What! because I am face to face with irreparable loss, because I have given back to the source from whence it came, the cause of a great happiness, still retaining through all my life the blessings which have sprung and will spring from that cause, I am to renounce my manhood, and, howling, grovel in bestiality ? Why, the very apes know better, and if you shoot their young, the poor brutes grieve their grief out and do not immediately seek distraction in a gorge.

Kicked into the world a boy without guide or training, or with worse than none, I confess to my shame that few men have drunk deeper of all kinds of sin than I. Happily, my course was arrested in time–before I had earned absolute destruction – and for long years I have been slowly and painfully climbing, with many a fall, towards better things. And when I look back, what do I find to have been the agents of my redemption? The hope of immortality or of future reward? I can honestly say that for these fourteen years such a consideration has not entered my head. No, I can tell you exactly what has been at work. Sartor Resartus led me to know that a deep sense of religion was compatible with the entire absence of theology. Secondly, science and her methods gave me a resting-place independent of authority and tradition. Thirdly, love opened up to me a view of the sanctity of human nature, and impressed me with a deep sense of responsibility.

If at this moment I am not a worn-out, debauched, useless carcass of a man, if it has been or will be my fate to advance the cause of science, if I feel that I have a shadow of a claim on the love of those about me, if in the supreme moment when I looked down into my boy's grave my sorrow was full of submission and without bitterness, it is because these agencies have worked upon me, and not because I have ever cared whether my poor personality shall remain distinct for ever from the All from whence it came and whither it goes.

And thus, my dear Kingsley, you will understand what my position is. I may be quite wrong, and in that case I know I shall have to pay the penalty for being wrong. But I can only say with Luther, "Gott helfe mir, Ich kann nichts anders."

I know right well that 99 out of 100 of my fellows would call me atheist, infidel, and all the other usual hard names. As our laws stand, if the lowest thief steals my coat, my evidence (my opinions being known) would not be received against him. But I cannot help it. One thing people shall not call me with justice and that is – a liar. As you say of yourself, I too feel that I lack courage; but if ever the occasion arises when I am bound to speak, I will not shame my boy.

- Thomas Huxley, September 23rd, 1860

Should've got the mark

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:13:00 +0000

You really feel he should've got the mark. However, my inner English teacher would like to note that 'hopeful' was spelled incorrectly, and 'live' is not, in fact, the opposite of death. 3/5, must try harder.

via god snot, where god's not

UK Government still against freedom from religion in schools

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 10:55:00 +0000

PZ points out a Guardian report on a UK headteacher who wanted to establish a completely secular school, only to be informed by senior government officials that it would be a 'political impossibility'. There is still a legal requirement in all state schools for pupils to take part in a daily act of worship of a broadly Christian nature, and Dr. Paul Kelley was informed this would be impossible to change:

One senior figure at the then Department for Education and Skills, told Kelley that bishops in the House of Lords and ministers would block the plans. Religion, they added, was 'technically embedded' in many aspects of education.

Now I was lucky enough to complete most of my education in an international school abroad, but I returned to the UK for my A-Levels. I must admit that apart from a hymn or two once a month in assembly I can't recall any other of the trappings of religion intruding into my life, much less a 'daily act of worship' - I suspect this is something more honoured in the breach than in the observance. Of course, this doesn't change the fact that this is a ludicrous rule, and that it can't be changed highlights how ludicrous the system of having Bishops in the House of Lords is. That wasn't what really irritated me though. I'd like to pick out a couple of points from the article:

Dr Paul Kelley... wanted to challenge the legal requirement in all state schools for pupils to take part in a daily act of worship of a broadly Christian nature. There are only a handful of exceptions at faith schools where the daily worship can be based on a different religion.

(My emphasis). I see. So basically, it doesn't matter which magical sky god you may want to praise, as long as you are praising some magical sky god. Because obviously, it's just the general praising that's important. Dear god (ha), won't someone think of the children! More seriously, this seems to be another case of 'believing in belief' - a general indication that all religious belief is good and that a life without it is morally deficient. Surely there must be some way of challenging this blatant discrimination against atheists?

The second point:

A spokesman for the Church of England said: 'If he is arguing for a way for individual schools to opt out of those bits of the act he does not like that is not something we would support. Either overtly or by default, this country is still a Christian one.'

(Again, my emphasis.) What nonsense. Let's look at the stats shall we? Using the Tearfund survey (A Christian organisation, so if there is any bias it should be towards a more positive portrayal of the prevalence of Christianity), we see that whilst 53% of the UK identifies themselves as Christian, only 10% attend church weekly, with a further 5% attending monthly. Given that only 6% of the remaining 38% who claim to be Christian indicate they would consider attending church in the future, I think we can consider 21% as the upper bound for people with an active Christian belief. On the other hand, 39% of people identify themselves as having no religion. Now from those numbers, I don't think we can consider the UK 'overtly Christian'. What the Church of England means by 'by default' I don't know, but if they mean 'in name only' perhaps I agree with them - a slight majority of the UK would tick the box marked Christian if asked about religious affiliation, but that would be the only time the majority of them even thought about it. This seems quite a strange thing to be proud of however. In my view the UK is a secular nation with an unfortunate hangover from its religious past, as evidenced by it having a state religion that hardly anybody attends (2.8% of the UK attend a CoE church, according to the latest stats), but which still gets 26 seats in the House of Lords, and attempts to use this to bully anyone with a view it doesn't like out the way. We'll leave Dr. Kelley to sum it up:

'[enforced religious worship] is not, in my view, fair to a child and it is not offering them the opportunity to choose freely. The problem we are left with is a 19th-century architecture of education in a 21st-century environment.'

And, I would add, the same in government.

UPDATE: I notice Feeding the Fish has also blogged about this here.

1 Month Old, and the Brights Equinox fund appeal

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 12:29:00 +0000

Today this blog is 1 month and a day old (I forgot it was a month old yesterday, okay?). It's had 2042 visits so far, thanks in no small part to some linkage from Pharyngula. Thanks PZ! Hopefully I can keep thinking up enough interesting content to keep these viewing figures up. Thanks to everyone who's already come along to visit, and feel free to stop by and comment anytime!

In other news, the Brights Equinox Fund Drive appeal is now on. If you fancy supporting an organisation pushing for wider acceptance of a naturalistic worldview, click here to donate. Alternatively, if you feel you meet the Bright criteria,

* A bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview
* A bright's worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements
* The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview

and want to be part of a like-minded internet constituency of people, why not join The Brights today?

Cool Atheist Music 4 - Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Shallow Be Thy Game

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:27:00 +0000

This week's slightly delayed (blame my Master's viva) cool atheist music comes from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, off their album One Hot Minute. Enjoy.

Know Your Militants!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:17:00 +0000

With all this talk of the new, 'militant' atheism, I've begun to worry that people will get the many different militant strands of religion confused. As such, I've devised this picture to enable you to tell the difference. So next time you're confronted by a rabid, frothing at the mouth, hate-speech spewing militant, just refer to this handy picture to tell exactly which brand of fundamentalist nut you're talking to.

No need for thanks, this has been a public service announcement.

UPDATE: Cat's Staff has suggested to me that the Dawkins picture with him wearing an 'Atheists for Jesus' picture would work better. I've decided Cat's Staff is right, so I've updated the picture. Thanks!

The 'New Atheism' and PETA

noreply@blogger.com (Ben D) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:31:00 +0000

Chad Orzel at Uncertain Principles has a post up comparing the 'New Atheists' (a terrible term, but it seems to have stuck) with PETA. Except there isn't actually a comparison, just a series of things he finds objectionable about PETA, and a blanket assertion that this makes them analogous to the 'New Atheism'.

You know, I'd take these 'Old Atheists' (if they're the opposite to the New Atheists I guess that must be what they're called, right?) a lot more seriously if they ever actually had any facts in their arguments.