Free Republic

Evolutionists often attempt to use observational science—arguments from biology, paleontology, geology, or even astronomy—to support their belief. But the really interesting thing is that they base all their arguments on principles that ultimately come from biblical creation! As strange as it may sound, evolutionists must unwittingly assume that creation is true in order to argue against it. That means that Darwin was (in a sense) a “creationist.” All evolutionists must borrow the principles of biblical creation in order to do science (even though they would deny this). Here is why...

I wanted to address liberal arguments; I will address, specifically, two types of liberal arguments; namely moral relativity and passive tyranny. When liberals feel the need to argue with a conservative view point (and they often do), one common argument is that conservatives shouldn’t push their views onto others, because it infringes on their right to believe the way they believe. They argue this because their view of morality is relative, that is, morals depend on who you are talking to, and in what circumstance. The problem with this argument is, if you don’t believe in this relativistic view of...

The problem with being a logical human being is that every day, sometimes every hour, you get blind-sided like a quarterback cursed with an underachieving offensive line. It’s bad enough when a movie or a mystery novel scores a big fat zero on the logic meter, but when it happens in real life, if you’re anything like me, you find yourself wondering if you have somehow followed Alice down the rabbit hole.

A Ph.D. Statistician rips apart Chucky Shumer's statement on the logic for the Fairness Doctrine. Love to see Chucky die by his own words.

Less than five minutes into last night's presidential debate, John McCain started talking about a man he called "Joe the Plumber," who didn't think he would benefit from Barack Obama's tax plan. And Kevin Heron, a senior at McDaniel College, began scrawling on his bingo card. He was among 50 students playing "Debate Fallacy Bingo" - a game devised by McDaniel professors to show how the candidates' arguments often fail basic tests of logic. Each student had a bingo card, and each box contained a type of logical fallacy. Heron wrote "Joe the Plumber" in the box marked, "Appeal to...

One of society’s largest problems is that decisions on all matters, be it education, health, national security or any other issue, are no longer rooted in pure logic with a regard for what’s best for society. No longer do we analyze what’s best overall and then seek to implement sound solutions. Indeed, people who try to are often derided for doing so. To be sure, those on the wrong side of any issue often quote facts to support their agendas, but only those facts that suit its side. Contrary to what they may claim, such practice is not logic; it’s...

Pick up any biology textbooks, books, articles. And you will see the pervasive use of the word "design" - biological designs in cells, tissues, structures, bio-systems, organisms, etc. So, Darwin theorized that this design is due to blind natural forces. The alternative theory of course must be that this design is not due to blind natural forces, but is real design, i.e. intelligence-caused design. (I) Darwinist Theory: Design is due to blind natural forces (II) ID Theory: Design is intelligence-caused design Is Darwinist theory falsifiable? If Darwinist theory is falsified, then of course ID theory is affirmed. Similarly, if ID...

BE HERE, OR BE NOWHERE!

It takes a lot more integrity, character, and courage to be a conservative than it does to be a liberal. That's because at its most basic level, liberalism is nothing more than childlike emotionalism applied to adult issues. Going to war is mean, so we shouldn't do it. That person is poor and it would be nice to give him money, so the government should do it. Somebody wants to have an abortion, have a gay marriage, or wants to come into the U.S. illegally and it would be mean to say, "no," so we should let them. I am...

This thread is a continuation of the first thread "Questions For Atheists & Non-Atheists" Some points were brought up that I wish to address here. I look forward to the responses. Taken from one of my dictionaries in my personal library: "Occam's Razor. A principle devised by the English philospher William of Occam, which states that entities must not be multiplied beyond what is necessary. In a scientific context, Occam's Razor is the choice of the simplest theory from among the theories which fit what we know. In logic, Occam's Razor is the statement of an argument in its essential...

I recently took a personality test at my company called Meyers-Briggs. It’s been around since the 1940s, and is used to determine what kind of person the subject is. Apparently, I’m an INTP. I won’t go into the details of what that means, but one big thing it says is that I’m logical; I determine what I think will work in the future based on what’s worked before. Again, this is a personality thing and everyone is different. But honestly, I cannot fathom why so many are so adverse to logic... especially with the issues we face today.

Today we are fascinated with asymmetric warfare, net-centric warfare and precision warfare and we are convinced that heavy forces and the tank (yet again) are passe. Asymmetry works both ways. There is nothing quite as asymmetric as a tank driving over an infantryman.

Brain scans can identify who is more "rational" and who is more "emotional," says a new study in the current issue of the journal Science. Researchers at University College London put subjects into a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner and watched their brain activity as they sorted through some artfully structured choices. The researchers posed classic Tversky/Kahneman choices framed as gain and loss scenarios. In this case, the subjects were initially told that they would receive £50, but then were told that they had to choose between a "sure" option and "gamble" option. In so-called Gain frame, the...

The debate concerning intelligent design and evolution has revealed some confusion about the concept of religious faith. What constitutes religious faith? Traditionally, religious faith refers to a belief in a particular revelation, a specially delivered message, something we couldn't figure out by reason alone. Thus, the Jewish people have faith in the revelation they believe was given to Abraham and is contained principally in the Torah. Muslims believe in the message given to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel and recorded in the Quran. Buddhists believe in the revelation that came to Siddhartha Gautama and will lead them along the eightfold...

Trying to figure out what the name of the fallacy is with this argument: 1) God is love 2) God has declared only one way for salvation 3) Most of the world does not know about that way of salvation 3) Therefore, either a) God isn't love or b)There is more than one way to salvation

The Incomplete Gödel Gregory H. Moore Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel. Rebecca Goldstein. 296 pp. W. W. Norton, 2005. $22.95.A World Without Time: The Forgotten Legacy of Gödel and Einstein. Palle Yourgrau. x + 210 pp. Basic Books, 2005. $24.Such eminent 20th-century physicists as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg are well known to almost all scientists, whether or not they happen to be physicists. Yet most scientists are unfamiliar with eminent mathematicians from the same period, such as David Hilbert (Germany) and Oswald Veblen (United States). A rare exception is John von Neumann (Hungary...

... David Boonin, though not responding to George, also discounts the pro-lifer’s claim that the newly conceived embryo is a distinct, living, and whole human organism. How can this be, he argues, when we don’t know the precise moment during the conception process at which the new zygotic human being comes into existence? Here Boonin is both right and wrong. True, we don’t know exactly when during the conception process that the zygote comes to be. Some embryologists argue that it happens when the sperm penetrates the ovum while others point to syngamy, when the maternal and parental chromosomes crossover...

Question: Hi, I was wondering about a bioethical issue that's really important today- abortion. Most of the debate about abortion revolves around when life begins, so I was wondering when most scientist's believe that life begins, since you obviously would know more about this subject. You don't have to give your moral beliefs or anything, but I would just like to know when you think that life begins... Thanks! =) Amit Srivastava Answer 1: This is an important topic, but even (or especially) for a scientist you and I must realize that my "moral beliefs" will affect the kind of...

GÖDEL AND THE NATURE OF MATHEMATICAL TRUTH II [7.27.05]A Talk with Verena Huber-Dyson I doubt that pure philosophical discourse can get us anywhere. Maybe phenomenological narrative backed by psychological and anthropological investigations can shed some light on the nature of Mathematical Truth. As to Beauty in mathematics and the sciences, here speaks Sophocles' eyewitness in Antigone: "..... Why should I make it soft for you with tales to prove myself a liar? Truth is Right." Princeton, 1950sEinstein & Gödel Photo by Oskar Morgenstern, Institute of Advanced Study Archives A true Realist, a true Platonist will not stoop to choose...

Random thoughts on the passing scene: Usually I like four-star hotels better than five-star hotels. The four-star hotels tend to be comfortable and attractive places with amenities, but without the pretentiousness and fussiness of five-star hotels. It is amazing how many problems are caused by the simple fact that somebody could not be bothered to listen. Why do we keep pretending that we know how to control child molesters after they are released from prison? How many more children must be killed before we face the plain reality that, if it is dangerous to let child molesters out of prison,...