Author Archives: Dwight

Framing Free Will

Posted on June 23, 2018 by Dwight

When interactions occur between theists and atheists, our disparate frames of mind often cause confusion and misunderstanding. Behind these conflicting mindsets lie two incompatible worldviews: supernaturalism and naturalism. Understand these frameworks, and you will have a key to understanding our … Continue reading →

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The Basics

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Dwight

For thousands of years philosophers have gotten the science of our existence wrong. They have mistakenly assumed that we know or perceive the world around us; we do not, we cannot. They have believed that our sense perceptions are direct … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheology, Evolution & ID, Meaning & Value, Naturalism, Nature of Knowledge, Simulacrum | 3 Comments

Naturalism and Knowledge

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Dwight

We are living at the crossroads between supernaturalism and naturalism: the world is gradually abandoning the first for the second. Conservative Christians like to say there is a culture war going on, and there is. But it has more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Naturalism, State & Church, Supernaturalism | 2 Comments

Secular Solemnizing Statement

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Dwight

Atheists don’t do invocations or prayers. We recite no magic words, beseech no deities, invoke no figments of imagination for public worship. But this doesn’t mean that atheists are incapable of language of the sort appropriate (according to SCOTUS) to … Continue reading →

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An Aura of Ownership

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Dwight

The purpose of solemnizing prayer before a legislative session is to create an aura of ownership over the proceedings which follow. Five Catholics on the Supreme Court find that permissible. Although bringing church to work feels wholly comfortable to the … Continue reading →

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Moral Realism

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Dwight

I strongly recommend this post on moral realism by Geoff Sayre-McCord (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

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Naturalism & Supernaturalism

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Dwight

One way of distinguishing supernaturalism and varying shades of naturalism is to consider them as providing different solutions to the “problem” of our lack of complete knowledge of the world. It is evident that we lack complete knowledge of the … Continue reading →

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Cartesian Doubt

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Dwight

Philosophy begins with science. How do we know this? We can try to begin with philosophy. We can start with Cartesian doubt. Unfortunately for the history of philosophy, Rene Descartes did not take his first philosophy far enough. He began … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheology, Naturalism, Nature of Knowledge, Simulacrum | 5 Comments

Are Atheism & Morality Compatible (part 2)

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Dwight

We ended part one with three barriers to postulating an  evolutionary source of human morality—obstacles which Henderson considers insurmountable. First, he claims that evolution is incapable of leading to the development of animals who are altruistically unselfish or compassionate. He … Continue reading →

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Are Atheism & Morality Compatible? (part 1)

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Dwight

“Why There Is No Such Thing as a Good Atheist” That’s the title of a recent blog post by Pastor Rick Henderson on HuffingtonPost.com. Despite the provocative title, Henderson is sincerely trying to engage atheists in a constructive manner. The … Continue reading →

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