Cultural Naturalism Report

Naturalism, Life and Meaning in a Causal Universe

2010-06-11T02:49:00.000-04:00

The Illustrated Sutra of Cause and Effect: 8th century, Japan. This is the first in a series of simple introductory articles and videos on naturalistic philosophy. This article was originally posted on Nirmukta. Many of those of us who call ourselves freethinkers are aware that there is some fundamental difference between the way we view reality and the way the superstitious folks do. We

Introduction to Naturalism

2010-02-25T00:47:00.004-05:00

This video is a simple visual introduction to the core principles of philosophical naturalism. Most people, including many freethinkers, are unaware that notions such as atheism, agnosticism, skepticism and freethought all rely on a set of rules that are described by a particular system of philosophy. This philosophy, known as Naturalism, also describes the underlying logical framework for

Naturalism in Economics: Part 1- The Naturalistic Fallacy

2009-06-20T05:25:00.018-04:00

Political expression is an area where naturalistic philosophy is desperately needed. Nowhere within politics is this dearth more noticeable than in the realm of economic policy. People on the left and on the right of the spectrum of economic policies find ideological opponents on the other side, while not recognizing the false assumptions about the nature of reality that they are incorporating

The Naturalistic Fallacy: A Response to Sam Harris' Talk at the 3rd Beyond Belief Conference.

2008-12-02T01:24:00.005-05:00

Few ideas in the development of ethics theory have garnered as much debate as the naturalistic fallacy. Those who argue in favor of it are usually moral relativists, while its detractors often argue for some form of moral absolutism. It is the atheists who are often accused of moral relativism, which is assumed to be so reprehensible by the accusers that it is in itself considered to be enough of

What’s so Objectionable about Objectivism?

2008-11-10T10:19:00.028-05:00

Early Encounters with Rand:The first time I picked up Ayn Rand’s book, The Fountainhead, I was 14. Two days later I put the book down, disappointed in its colorless conclusion and offended by the arrogant indifference of its protagonist. This was around the time I was rejecting much of my childhood religious conditioning, and I didn’t give much thought to Ayn Rand for another 10 years after that

On the Evolutionary Origins of Religion

2008-10-06T04:23:00.012-04:00

Is religion a parasitic meme or is it a cultural adaptation?The divide on the question of the naturalistic origins of religion is between the adaptationists and the by-product theorists. The adaptationists are led by David Sloan Wilson and Jonathan Haidt, while Daniel Dennett is the major proponent of the religion-as-a-by-product hypothesis. In this essay, I outline the issue briefly and mention

Willing to Exist

2008-09-27T01:27:00.016-04:00

cc:stuckincustomsAs a dyed-in-the-wool progressive myself, I have often wondered about individuals belonging to minority groups discriminated on by republicans, who hold conservative positions on issues such as social welfare. Famous examples are black republicans and conservative gays. I was watching The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan on Real Time with Bill Maher when I was struck by a thought.

Cats, Presidents and Atheists

2008-09-11T20:51:00.021-04:00

Before Religion Came Crashing Into Town