Free The Animal

I alluded to this back when I announced the new name of this blog. You’re welcome to review that, but here’s the gist of the particular reference, from two sources: Wikipedia and Objectivism Wiki. The most concise way I can describe it is the notion of either “body and mind,” for the more secular among us, or “body and soul” for the most religious / spiritual. In essence, the idea seems to either call for “balance,” such as in eastern mysticisms, to a more mind-centric philosophy at the expense of bodily urges, to a near complete rejection of the body (”pleasures of the flesh”) in some religious philosophies. Why is this important? First, I reject them all on the basis of evolutionary biology. My approach is materialist (every thing is composed of matter or “material”), with a caveat: we either have free will, or our belief in our own free will is sufficient to be tantamount to free will (i.e., the determinism of our own biology is so complex that we can’t as yet begin to comprehend or unravel it, so it is, to us, free will). Another way to think of it is that values seem to transcend the…

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Just received in email, forwarded from a “Robert Lawrence,” along with a linked graphic. Dear Friends: Texas has declared the ICR Graduate School Science Education program unsuitable for Higher Education in the state! The following ad will be distributed through Texas newspapers on Sunday, May 4. Please pray with us that many will “see” and understand the significance of this action in “The Long War Against God.” Thank you. Dr. Henry M. Morris III, CEO On general principles, anytime I get a communique from a stranger that has “friend” in the salutation, I instinctively want to reach for my wallet, my mind, and my gun — all at the same time. My reply: Get the hell out of my email with your imaginary friend fantasies, you primitive moron. But since I bothered to blog this, allow me to be charitable and offer a word of advice: when you go begging to the state (the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in this case) for your “Certificate of Authority,” you deserve everything you get. Dipshits.

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Lew says “oh please,” but this for me would constitute my largest problem with Paul (follow the links, if you like). I don’t mind that he has faith in a deity, for it’s not really a scientific proposition, and so much of it is wrapped in family tradition anyway — I love Christmas time, even though I consider literal belief absurd. But denying the scientific fact of evolution and natural selection — especially using that ignorant “just a theory” line — tells me that in some measure he places his faith above his perception, cognition, conceptualization, and reason. I simply cannot take anyone completely seriously who denies evolution and natural selection — either because they’re ignorant (excusable, but why take ignorant people seriously?) or explicitly places some degree of limitation on reason in favor of faith, which is really inexcusable, and you must therefore place great suspicion on their ability to honestly deal in facts. I could have taken it a little easier if he’d waffled on the issue, simply stating that he’s not well enough versed in the theories to judge one way or the other, and he doesn’t consider it important that he does. Misrepresenting the word “theory,”…

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