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POPSBiocultural Evolution in the 21st Century: The Evolutionary Role of Religion My outline introduces the concept of biocultural evolution, particularly with reference to the Twentieth Century and the prospects for the Twenty-First Century. I then explore the concept of complex distributed systems to characterize all highly creative processes in both culture and nature. Subsequently, I turn to the problem of complexity horizons and the challenge that these present for traditional moral reflections. Humans are then characterized as a Lamarckian wild card in epic of evolution. I close by discussing the evolutionary role of religion. See source for the full paper: http://metanexus.net/magazine/ArticleDetail/tabid/68/id/8779/Default.aspx
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POPSPhotographs and Meditations on Death We are well used to reflections on individual mortality - it is the shaping force in the narrative of our existence. It emerges in childhood as a baffling fact, re-emerges possibly in adolescence as a tragic reality which all around us appear to be denying, then perhaps fades in busy middle life, to return, say, in a sudden premonitory bout of insomnia. One of the supreme secular meditations on death is Larkin's "Aubade": ... The sure extinction that we travel to And shall be lost in always. Not to be here, Not to be anywhere, And soon; nothing more terrible, nothing more true. We confront our mortality in private conversations, in the familiar consolations of religion - "That vast moth-eaten musical brocade," thought Larkin, "Created to pretend we never die."
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POPSConscience versus Belief and Dogma Although those with deep beliefs and expressed values do any amazing job of advertising their compassion and calls for justice in the names of far away people, only conscience cam motivate love for the person next door. Who is my neighbour?
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POPSHypothosis gains validity from objections.
Do extremism and an unconditional adherence to religious dogma result from a failure of a portion of the frontal lobe to fully develop or, if fully developed, to activate? Studies suggest that faithful adherence to a single reasoning strategy on tests such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test means that parts of the frontal lobes are inactive, have failed to fully develop, or have even been damaged. Thus, unqualified disdain for divergent beliefs,for personal interpretation, and for creative theories like Darwin’s theory of evolution, may indeed have, at least a partial, biological explanation: a reduced utilization of that section of the brain which has played such a vital role in humanity’s creative advances—the frontal lobes. By unconditionally obeying religious tenets—or any dogma—some people may be relying on the phylo-genetically older, more posterior portions of the brain that store knowledge and enable consistent or stable behaviors and, unknowingly, circumventing the portion whi
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POPSscience/theology coming together I have only clipped a very short piece but this article goes deeply into the subject. I find my religion needs scientific confirmation or at least is basically rational
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POPSThe Courage to Be Useful overview of Tillich's The Courage to Be, supported by general account of existential approaches to anxiety of non-being, including Kierkegaard and Heidegger.
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POPSBrain 'imaging' in the Renaissance So were these master artists of the Renaissance trying to hide images of anatomically correct brains in their religious work? Why would they do it? Were they trying to put science into religion without getting caught? Or is this just one big coincidence? Maybe the four scientists that wrote the article need to take a break from the neurosciences. What do you think?<<
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POPSDavid Hume's epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, 1734 In his early 20s, the great Scottish philosopher, David Hume, wrote this "letter to a physician" (unidentified, but probably Arbuthnot) giving an account of his melancholic symptoms and his efforts at self-treatment.
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POPSReligion and Drugs prec-e-dent 1: an earlier occurrence of something similar 2 a: something done or said that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a subsequent act of the same or an analogous kind 2b: the convention established by such a precedent or by long practice 3: a person or thing that serves as a model Inspired by {{papananook}}'s Moses clip. :) http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/939CDF96-7679-45A3-A787-B38960561C20/
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POPSHow to abandon your God
and have taken up another one, or none at all, or maybe more than one because polytheism certainly sounds tasty and, you know, what the hell, right? It's not really all that shocking. People change religions. People swap denominations. People evolve, go to college, learn to think (and seek meaning) for themselves, change their minds or marry someone of a different belief or go through a personal revelation, or actually experience the spiritual/intellectual epiphany that reveals how all religions are one and God is not "out there" and you are not here to be its meek sinful guilty mindless servant. And maybe you go even further, as you realize that it's actually quite dangerous and small-minded to hew too closely to one narrow way of seeing/feeling/tasting the divine as you perhaps come to the slippery conclusion that it's all about co-creating God in your own way and, therefore, any religion that contains more than one person (that is to say, you) is deviously suspicious and apoc
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POPSTurkey: the essence of the secularist debate I am with the first view. Secularism should include the freedom of view and the removal of primitive impediments to democratic participation. the lifting of the Kurdish linguistic ban is a step forward too. Even if the move results in accelerating value clashes and violence, the principle holds true.
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POPS"The Gospel of Judas" An extremely interesting interview with two religion scholars on this and other gospels not included in the bible with some discussion on the politics of early Christianity.
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POPSArt is my Religion Oscar Wilde and others put the aesthetic over the ethical, the latter a clumsy and unimaginative survival mechanism, the former the purpose of life.
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POPSNazi God Doubtless the present pope as an ex-member of the Hitler Youth would be able to correct any misunderstandings here.
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