If I say, for example, that I am actually a Minion (from Despicable Me) and that Kevin the Minion is based on me, you’d have little compelling evidence to contradict me, but that isn’t how knowledge works.
Tag: agnostic
Are science and God Irreconcilable? Another perspective
Science can be seen as a method of creating reasoned knowledge through reliance on evidence, incredulous scepticism and human imagination. Each of these has its own function within the knowledge-creating methods of science. Evidence is probably the most easily recognised cornerstone of science, as evidence directs our thinking and grounds our area of scope. Imagination,… Continue reading Are science and God Irreconcilable? Another perspective
Mythos and Religious Practice
A lot of religions, monotheism in particular, ask their followers to submit to God through certain practices, like prayer and abstinence (e.g. Lent or Ramadan). It is also common for religious people to talk to God, asking for forgiveness or guidance at certain milestones in their life. This has always struck me as weird: surely… Continue reading Mythos and Religious Practice
Self-Labelling as Agnostic
Neil deGrasse Tyson, a long time ago now, annoyed a lot of people. He did this not by identifying as an agnostic, but by using it to entirely the side-step the issue of whether he is an atheist. Does he believe or not? Penn Jillette addressed this issue in his book God? No! where he… Continue reading Self-Labelling as Agnostic
Scientism
Wikipedia defines scientism thusly: “Scientism is a term used, usually pejoratively, to refer to belief in the universal applicability of the scientific method and approach, and the view that empirical science constitutes the most authoritative worldview or most valuable part of human learning to the exclusion of other viewpoints. It has been defined as "the… Continue reading Scientism
Does the Universe Have a Purpose?
I don't normally do video-only posts, but I'm not convinced that I could really add anything to the words and illustrations in this. Enjoy.
How Do You Define a Word?
How do you define a word? I know it seems nice to think you can look at a dictionary, but it seems that dictionaries follow something: words themselves are a sort of zeitgeist. What a word means, then, is what we all agree they mean. After all, “zeitgeist” might be absolute nonsense to you and… Continue reading How Do You Define a Word?