Comments by mcgmelo1

Comment #290420 by mcgmelo1 on November 25, 2008 at 6:23 am

When saying that it is not romantic in "darwinian terms" to declare love to the own´s wife, what about to remind that it is contaminated with sin in religious terms according to some religious beliefs '
What about that the pope in the II world war didn´t oppose to nazism in any declaration.
All comments on favour of a "religious" moral don´t even make any sense, religion is really opportunistic.

According to a catholic religious moral, medicin as we know it wouldn ´t even exist, sense to study anatomy was a sin in religious terms.
what if some people never had opposed to religion , what a world would we be living in, I wonder.
It seems that all comments in favour of religion are tendencious, sense it doesn´t even consider negative historical facts in a neutral way.

2. Interview with Richard Dawkins on fairy tales and retirement

Comment #275854 by mcgmelo1 on October 31, 2008 at 6:18 pm

Just for fun

I had tryed to know if a spell ( drawing and spelling ) was efficient when I was about 8. I remember I considered it hadn´t none.
And I know a boy (actually my husband ) that tryed pray to have good results in school, and it didn´t work neither.
I wonder, do other people, addults, never tryed to see if it has real effects ?

( Of course, reminding The God Delusion, actually some people tryed to test efficienty of pray... How could this book not be considered funny ?)

3. The Retirement of Richard Dawkins: Reflections on a Stewardship

Comment #264832 by mcgmelo1 on October 15, 2008 at 9:24 am

I wouldn´t try do the job of a physisist , despite that I think that some historians would have enough skills do understand physiscs...
But do some physists, that are trying do do the job of an anthropologist or a sociologist. Do they really know that at least those sciences have their own field and methods and that we do need ethics in our own jobs and fields ?
Perhaps Carl Sagan could make the difference between myth and science sense he mentioned that he did have to know about Malinowsky...
Why would some scientist put in his curriculum he is leader of a certain religion ?
Why would someone define his/herself as a christian ( muslim etc. ) anthropologist ?
Why should the human genome de defined as a kind of God´s alphabet ?
Perhaps people need more than ever to make clear the split between science and religion´s scopes, and this subject maybe more than 10 centuries old and is still more actual ... more with the increase of a "scientific creationism wave", specially promoted even by those who study science only to "attack" it from the inside ( like Beehe , for instance ).

4. The Retirement of Richard Dawkins: Reflections on a Stewardship

Comment #264682 by mcgmelo1 on October 15, 2008 at 4:03 am

Here are two quotations about the importance of " public understanding of science ", and science mustn´t be only associated with "heavy" science as physics for instance .
From where does it come the definition of humanity, from biological science or from "theological science "? From where does come the "dignity" of "humanity", from myth or from science ?
... History is science, sociology is ethical science, anthropology is basic science ... psychology is science...

Should it be secret, only available by religious rituals of initiation instead of being "public " ?

I Hope that the english of google translator is understantable:

"The science itself is innocent ...
basic science has no connotations warring
with life and with nature.
To that science is useful to companies
we need to be combined together. "

********

"The science ... have to go to the society,
the human community ...
the sciences of man are fundamental
throughout the whole body of science so that scientific progress is not too
detached from the reality of human communities
which will be applied. "

***

(Quotes from Aziz Ab'Sáber removed from listing of ISPA (Institute of Applied Psychology and Center for Intercultural Studies AZIZ AB'SÁBER)

" A ciência em si é inocente...
ciência básica não tem conotações beligerantes
com a vida e com a natureza.
Para que as ciências sejam úteis às sociedades
é preciso que estejam combinadas entre si."

********

" As ciências...têm de dirigir-se à sociedade,
à comunidade humana...
as ciências do homem são fundamentais
em todo o corpo geral das ciências, a fim de que o progresso científico não fique por demais
distanciado da realidade das comunidades humanas
às quais será aplicado."

***

( citações de Aziz Ab´Sáber retiradas de prospecto do ISPA( Instituto de Psicologia Aplicada e Centro de Estudos Interculturais AZIZ AB´SÁBER )

5. The Retirement of Richard Dawkins: Reflections on a Stewardship

Comment #264395 by mcgmelo1 on October 14, 2008 at 10:40 am

As a first opinion of the above article, I would say ,

I seem not to agree with almost everything written.

Well, "public understanding" of science seems to exist, wasn´t it the "dream" of someone actually ?

To create "psychological structures" in people´s minds, and at least to make them aware of a certain subject is a huge task in itself and means that it will prevent people to loose the "skill" forever...
And just to finish, I would like to think a bit more like Aristotle: leave to pupils their own reflections about their teacher´s efforts, and if they were fruitful or not, and what time does it takes , if it takes ...

If not only about science, at least people can be more aware of actual general interest subjects as religious fundamentalism...etc. and to give more attention for subjects that seem to have been "forgotten", as a sleeping "beast".

( I will read it more carefully however)

6. The Lava Lizard's Tale

Comment #182894 by mcgmelo1 on May 21, 2008 at 5:14 am

I really appreciate those lectures ( and all books...), and I guess that the general audience should feel honoured for such "dedication" to a so necessary effort, that is, of course, too valuable.

Prof. Richard Dawkins is really having success in his job, and success that will endure...

7. Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss

Comment #175083 by mcgmelo1 on May 4, 2008 at 11:10 am

Repeating the sentence: "We should better know first what culture is before we get to know what science is " from the brasilian geographer Aziz ab´Saber ( I really love this sentence),

Well, commenting about the question/suggestion on 11th part of Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss video :"why not to teach science only as science and not as a "social issue ? "
Well, "science" is quite a social and human issue and that´s precisely why we are facing these problems with science and religion and the reason that perhaps to practise science doesn´t make someone a "true" scientist and the reason why some people that have an important job in a scientific career are trying to use it as "science"... their religious ideas...
Just to conclude: yes, "science", as everything else is quite a human and social issue and Richard Dawkins maybe is the best "living methaphor "I can find to be sure of that ....