Recognising patterns of dehumanisation

The UK’s Independent has a great interview with David Eagleman, and that opening remark of mine just might be your cue for the “Who?” comment. OK, fair enough, so first a quick intro. He is a neuroscientist and writer at Baylor College of Medicine. Now on to the Interview in the Independent. I’m going to pluck one specific bit out of … Read more

Is ISIS simply a group of Psychopaths?

When faced with the reality of their abhorrent behaviour, especially when they appear to relish and delight in proudly promoting it, a rather natural thought is that they are simply crazy, or to be a tad more clinical, they are a gang of psychopaths. A psychopath is an individual who acts in an uninhibited manner without … Read more

Study Results: Religion makes kids less compassionate and more intolerant

A few articles have been popping up about a new study that reports the discovery that kids raised without god are far more altruistic and compassionate than kids raised with god. This appears odd (to some) and might perhaps be a surprise, primarily because there exists a popular perception that religion is all about love, kindness, and compassion … Read more

Were the 9/11 Hijackers evil men?

The immediate and perhaps most intuitive answer is to suggest “yes”, the 9/11 Hijackers were indeed evil, and to say so without any hesitation. After all, how could anybody not evil sacrifice their life for the pursuit of the mass murder of thousands of innocent people. But it is just not that simple. To label … Read more

The scope of atheism does not include cosmology

A rather common claim that often pops up is the assertion that atheists believe that something came from nothing. Here is a specific example within the Christian Post … It seems atheists would much rather believe that something came from nothing, than to believe that Someone has always existed. Of course both beliefs are a matter … Read more

Is sin real – Are we really just a few heartbeats away from depravity and wickedness? – Part II

I was writing yesterday about the religious claim that the default status of humans is that we are all fundamentally flawed, and suggested that if this was really true then the world should not be getting better, yet as a stark contrast to that the measurable worldwide trend is one in which violence of all types … Read more