Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Civility in American Politics: How to Get (Some of) it Back - Jonathan Haidt - Miller Center, University of Virginia

JONATHAN HAIDT is a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, where he does research on morality and emotion and how they vary across cultures. He is also the author of "The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom" and his most recent book, "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion." A book signing will follow his Forum.


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UP w/ Chris Hayes - - - msnbc.com

Thanks to AtheistEgbert for the link

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This morning we took an in-depth look at atheism in America and its role in politics, global warming, and one pastor's new beliefs on God. Joining Chris were:

Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins), author of The God Delusionand The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True.

Steven Pinker (@sapinker), cognitive scientist, professor at Harvard University's Department of Psychology, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined.

Susan Jacoby, author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism.

Jamila Bey (@jbey), host of The Sex, Politics, and Religion Hour on the Voice of Russia Radio Network and contributor to the Washington Post blog "She the People". 

Robert Wright, author of The Evolution of God and senior editor at The Atlantic. 

Jamie Kilstein (@jamiekilstein), comedian and co-host of Citizen Radio.

-Brett Brownell (@brettbrownell) was not a guest but is video and web producer for Up w/ Chris Hayes which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings on MSNBC.

Read more


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Richard Dawkins speaks on Reason Rally - Richard Dawkins - Washington Post

Richard Dawkins, interviewed by Sally Quinn of the Washington Post

Original site


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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Richard Dawkins on MagicSandwich Show this Sunday! - - - YouTube - Thunderf00t - dprjones - Aron Ra

From dprjones


From AronRa


On the Magic Sandwich Show this Sunday 18 March we will be joined by Richard Dawkins and Sean Faircloth.

The show will start at 5.00pm GMTLOCAL TIMES

For your local times see here:http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?

Richard Dawkins will be with us between 5.00pm and 6.00pm GMT.

Sean Faircloth is a former lawyer and member of the Maine House of Representatives between December 2002 and December 2008 is now the director for Strategy and Policy at the Richard Dawkins Foundation.

It is now possible to view it on blogtv at;http://www.blogtv.com/people/magicsandwich

or on ustream at;http://www.ustream.tv/channel/themagicsandwichshow

HOW TO APPEAR ON THE SHOW

To appear on the show send a skype contact request to:

magicsandwichshow

Include in the contact request the gist of the topic or question you have.

Please DO NOT CALL US! We will add you to the call.


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Jonathan Haidt: Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence - - - TED

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt asks a simple, but difficult question: why do we search for self-transcendence? Why do we attempt to lose ourselves? In a tour through the science of evolution by group selection, he proposes a provocative answer.

Jonathan Haidt studies how -- and why -- we evolved to be moral. By understanding more about our moral roots, his hope is that we can learn to be civil and open-minded. His new book is "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion."
Continue to TED


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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Jesus, the Easter Bunny, and Other Delusions: Just Say No! - Dr. Peter Boghossian - Skeptic

In this talk, Dr. Peter Boghossian argues that faith-based processes are unreliable and unlikely to lead one to the truth. Since our goal as knowers is to have more true beliefs than false ones, faith, as a process for getting to the truth, should be abandoned in favor of other, more reliable processes. The talk was followed by a question and answer session from the audience. This presentation, sponsored by the Freethinkers of Portland State University and published by philosophynews.com, was given by Dr. Peter Boghossian of Portland State University on January 27, 2012.


Click the image below to watch the video on the Skeptic site



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Secularism-A Short Film - - - YouTube - SecularHumanCentury

A Short Film by David M. Beadle. Robert G. Ingersoll wrote this essay in 1887, it's message is as urgent today is it was 127 years ago.


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Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Fabric of the Cosmos with Brian Greene: Watch the Complete NOVA Series Online - - - Open Culture

Forget about inclined planes and pulleys. In this series from the PBS program NOVA, physics is presented as an exotic, mind-bending realm.

The Fabric of the Cosmos, first broadcast in November, follows up on the 2003 Peabody Award-winning The Elegant Universe. Both series are adapted from the best-selling books of host Brian Greene, a mathematician and physicist at Columbia University.

Read more


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The Most Astounding Fact (Neil DeGrasse Tyson) - - - YouTube - MaxSchlick

Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by a reader of TIME magazine, "What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?" This is his answer.

YouTube link


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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

A New Way of Thinking -- Faircloth Interview - - - Point of Inquiry

A common goal of freethinkers, humanists, skeptics, and atheists is to preserve Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation" between church and state. But we haven't always been successful in this area—help from the courts notwithstanding—or at beating back the steady advances of the religious right.

How can we do better? Our guest this week has a new book on the topic, and just as important, a new way of thinking.

His name is Sean Faircloth, the director of strategy and policy for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Before that, Faircloth served five terms in the Maine Legislature and went on to serve as executive director for the Secular Coalition for America. He's author of the newly released book Attack of the Theocrats: How the Religious Right Harms Us All and What to Do About It.

Listen to or download the mp3

Go to the Point of Inquiry website.


Book Description
Copies on sale at the RDFRS store which inlcude a free DVD
and Amazon Kindle or Barnes and Noble Nook
At no time in American history has the United States had such a high percentage of theocratic members of Congress-those who expressly endorse religious bias in law. Just as ominously, at no other time have religious fundamentalists effectively had veto power over one of the country's two major political parties. As Sean Faircloth argues, this has led to the crumbling of the country's most cherished founding principle-the wall separating church and state-and presages yet even more crumbling. Faircloth, a former politician and current executive director of the Secular Coalition for America, moves beyond the symbolism to explore the many ways federal and state legal codes privilege religion in law. He goes on to demonstrate how religious bias in law harms all Americans-financially, militarily, physically, socially, and educationally. Sounding a much-needed alarm for all who care about the future direction of the country, Faircloth offers an inspiring vision for returning America to its secular roots.


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There is Nothing Like Science - EddieScott1957 - youtube

There is Nothing Like Science


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How the sawfish wields its saw… like a swordsman - Ed Young - Not Exactly Rocket Science


If you ever saw a sawfish, you might wonder if someone had taped a chainsaw to the body of a shark. The seven species of sawfish are some of the wackier results of evolution. They all wield a distinctive saw or ‘rostrum’, lined with two rows of sharp, outward-pointing ‘teeth’. But what’s the saw for?

Barbara Wueringer has an answer: the saws are both trackers and weapons. They’re studded with small pores that allow the sawfish to sense the minute electrical fields produced by living things. Even in murky water, their prey cannot hide. Once the sawfish has found its target, it uses the ‘saw’ like a swordsman. It slashes at its victim with fast sideways swipes, either stunning it or impaling it upon the teeth. Sometimes, the slashes are powerful enough to cut a fish in half. Even less dramatic blows can knock a fish to the sea floor, and the sawfish pins it in place with its saw.

Read more


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Saturday, March 3, 2012

Stephen Fry & friends on the life, loves and hates of Christopher Hitchens - IQ2 talks - - - YouTube - iqsquared

Thanks to LWS for the link.
The ForaTV post where this was originally shown live is no longer valid but intelligence2 has posted it on YouTube.

http://hitchfry.intelligencesquared.com/

In this historic event, Stephen Fry and other friends of Christopher Hitchens came together to celebrate the life and work of this great writer, iconoclast and debater. Fry was joined on stage at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall by Richard Dawkins and the two discussed Hitch's unflinching commitment to the truth. Hollywood actor Sean Penn was beamed in from LA by Google+ and, between cigarette puffs, read from Hitch's acclaimed work, The Trial of Henry Kissinger. Five friends of Hitch spoke via satellite in New York: satirist Christopher Buckley and editor Lewis Lapham mused on Hitch's prowess as a journalist. 'Like a pot of gold', said Lapham. Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie and James Fenton delighted the audience with stories of Hitchens as a young man. Rushdie drew roars of laughter when he recounted a word game invented by Amis and Hitchens where the word 'love' is replaced with 'hysterical sex'. Particular favourites included Hysterical Sex in the Time of Cholera and Hysterical Sex Is All You Need.

Watching the event with Hitch at his bedside in Texas, Hitch's wife Carol and novelist Ian McEwan provided an email commentary. 'His Rolls Royce mind is still purring beautifully', typed McEwan.

The event was watched live by 2500 at the venue, and by thousands more in UK cinemas and online.


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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Catholicism, Contraception and Secular Morality at Notre Dame by Sean Faircloth - Sean Faircloth - RichardDawkins.net - taped at Notre Dame


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