Comments by aleprechaunist

1. Art teacher made student pray to Jesus for forgiveness

Comment #250868 by aleprechaunist on September 20, 2008 at 5:09 pm

Reading the text properly, it's very clearly a 'her'... (as opposed to a 'he','him', or 'his')

Comment #247769 by aleprechaunist on September 15, 2008 at 3:25 am

Bill Bailey truly is a genius.

Incidentally, I'll never forget seeing him a live in London a couple of years back. Completely unexpectedly, he made some reference to Richard Dawkins and, on hearing the name a large portion of the audience instinctively applauded... the level of awareness was a pleasant surpise.

I suppose it only stands to reason that so many comedians are into evolution at the moment, as its detractors provide such an easy supply of humour...

3. Trailer for Religulous

Comment #190643 by aleprechaunist on June 9, 2008 at 10:17 am

Sorry Mango, my mistake... post re-edited - that was a bit of indiscriminate cutting and pasting on my part...

4. Trailer for Religulous

Comment #190612 by aleprechaunist on June 9, 2008 at 9:40 am

Nentuaby and BrianCarnell..

Surely there's no problem, provided the anti-religious arguments presented in this film don't rely on any of Maher's faulty medical ideas. I don't see any necessary or likely overlap...

5. Jamy Ian Swiss - Skepticism and the Art and Philosophy of Magic

Comment #185567 by aleprechaunist on May 28, 2008 at 4:55 am

Good interview.

I've often thought that religious observance has more to do with 'suspension of disbelief' than with 'belief' - it's the same sort of thing that we indulge in when we watch a film or magic show...

6. Brown says embryo research is key to life

Comment #182234 by aleprechaunist on May 19, 2008 at 12:52 pm

As long as you appreciate that you do so arbitrarily, and without rational justification.

I agree that there's no rational justification. That does not mean that my decision is 'arbitrary'.

As I've explained, I make no apology for saying that it's based on emotional considerations that are no less 'real' for being so..

My position is that there is no rational argument in either direction that stands up to scrutiny. This tends to be the nature of all moral propositions, unfortunately...

7. Brown says embryo research is key to life

Comment #182223 by aleprechaunist on May 19, 2008 at 12:24 pm

I think that it is due time for another moral evolution.

So far I can't in good conscience take anything other than a human-centric position on this question... but the opportunity is there to make a compelling case in the landscape of ideas as always. I haven't been convinced to change my stance thus far, though.

8. Brown says embryo research is key to life

Comment #182184 by aleprechaunist on May 19, 2008 at 10:49 am

Mitchell,

I believe that education is what has led to acceptance of race and homosexuality. They are seen not to be a threat. Homophobia and racism are born of fear and ignorance... empathy for other humans has won out in both those cases, at least in the West. That's the difference..

Morality evolves...

9. Brown says embryo research is key to life

Comment #182174 by aleprechaunist on May 19, 2008 at 10:32 am

Mitchell

...there is absolutely no reason to draw a cut off line at humans

I would suggest that a good reason (or motivation) for a cut-off line is that by placing the life of an animal above that of, say a newborn child, or a mentally-ill adult, would tend to incur the wrath of other humans in your neighbourhood. Would it really be worth it? Does the line still seem arbitrary?

10. Brown says embryo research is key to life

Comment #182158 by aleprechaunist on May 19, 2008 at 10:02 am

Clydey,

I would have to back Mitchell up on the point that you seem to imply that our predisposition toward looking after our own kind is an example of species selection...

The recurrent fact of racism, and other various in-group/out-group behaviours that characterise our species would seem to counter that as a motivating factor.

Perhaps it's about a balance between an individual's immediate survival needs and one's tendency to empathise with other minds (or in the case of 'higher' animals what we perceive to be like minds).

It seems to be the case that we have less empathy (more brutality)even towards other humans, never mind animals, when times are tough. This is why, broadly we seem to move towards greater humanitarianism as basic survival becomes less of an issue.

Empathy (identification with other perceived minds)is the key thing here, in my view. That's the innate bit.

I will always empathise far more with a fellow human being than with the cow whose eggs might be harvested to save them. Complexity is not something I give consideration to, nor even suffering, ultimately, unless it's really avoidable.

11. Brown says embryo research is key to life

Comment #182112 by aleprechaunist on May 19, 2008 at 8:34 am

Mitchell,

I actually agree with you that moral propositions ultimately cannot be established with reference to any utilitarian considerations.

To say that attributes we recognise to be more human (greater levels of cognitive abstraction etc) are somehow of greater value, is no different from saying that we ourselves are inherently 'better'. It is a truism.

Let's just face the fact that we feel a stronger emotional attachment to organisms with which we empathise and simply leave it at that... beyond a certain point anything else leads to absurd absolutist positions, it seems to me.

I would add that even such a measurable quantity as complexity can't be used to establish moral ascendancy, since we would be equally outraged if a more complex species were to conduct tests on us without our consent.

For the time being, if we can extend our sphere of empathy to the 'in-group' of humanity in its entirety, we will have achieved something... although recent events in human history would seem to suggest that we have some way to go even on that score.

12. Brown says embryo research is key to life

Comment #182082 by aleprechaunist on May 19, 2008 at 7:48 am

Mitchell, getting back to your original position of being...

"fully against the exploitation of non-consenting non-human animal subjects... in any and all cases, not just this one."

Further to this, it seems to me that our demise as a species would yield the least suffering to (and exploitation of) the greatest number of organisms on the planet, and benefit biodiversity massively.

Do you not therefore think, logically, that we should be encouraging such a demise?

Or is you argument purely emotional rather than utilitarian?

13. Faith in Britain today

Comment #176987 by aleprechaunist on May 8, 2008 at 12:30 pm

I got as far as 'the clarity of its theology', then noticed that this is rather a long article...

14. Richard Dawkins' secular army must be stopped. God is behind some of our greatest art

Comment #160435 by aleprechaunist on April 14, 2008 at 5:15 am

Art... the final gap...?

15. Get out of here, atheists!

Comment #156395 by aleprechaunist on April 7, 2008 at 12:56 pm

Peculiar and shocking. I nearly 'spewed'...

16. Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'

Comment #123931 by aleprechaunist on February 8, 2008 at 2:16 am

Calm down folks, and actually read the transcript...

I'm with Cartomancer on this.

17. Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'

Comment #123836 by aleprechaunist on February 7, 2008 at 5:47 pm

I do find it disturbing that the empty 'Sharia Law' allusions are nonetheless guaranteed to whip the right-wing BNP types into a frenzy.

Doubtless these people will ever-more-fervently refer to the UK as a 'Christian country', despite most of them never having set foot inside a church... Come to think of it, this may well be Williams' intention - the final land-grab!

18. Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'

Comment #123821 by aleprechaunist on February 7, 2008 at 5:07 pm

As I understand it, this is a storm in a teacup, since the Bishop's comments actually have no net content to them (as seems to be characteristic of the man).

He is simply advocating the right of people to behave as their superstitions dictate, but only insofar those behaviours do not conflict with the law of the land.

His mentioning 'Sharia Law' in this context can only have been calculated to stir up controversy, as he doesn't seem to be advocating it in any meaningful way... It's just vacuous babbling from someone who's built a career on it, nothing more.

19. Ask The God Delusion author Richard Dawkins

Comment #94202 by aleprechaunist on December 5, 2007 at 2:45 am

Don_Quix and others,

For BBC and other UK programming, look no further than

http://www.uknova.com

Programmes are posted as torrent files, and there is a policy of not posting any programming which is not already available to buy.

20. Christopher Hitchens and Bill Donohue on Mother Teresa

Comment #66459 by aleprechaunist on August 30, 2007 at 3:34 am

An Englishman must remain stumm when an Irishman talks

Aaargh!! As an 'actual' Irishman (and an Atheist) happily living and working and living in the UK in the 21st Century, with many English relatives, it makes my blood boil to have that buffoon claim some romantic notion of Irishness as a cover for his loudmouthed ignorance, and to presume to able to speak on my behalf!!

Unfortunately it's the simplistic notions of people like this that fuelled a lot of the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland...

Sorry...just needed to get that off my chest!

21. Sikh girl will convert for a place at Catholic school

Comment #64438 by aleprechaunist on August 20, 2007 at 4:59 am

"We think Sikhism is similar to Roman Catholicism so we put her in that school"

Oh, well that make s sense I guess (chuckles)...

22. Interview with Richard Dawkins about 'The Enemies of Reason'

Comment #63068 by aleprechaunist on August 13, 2007 at 3:59 am

Of course, we should be careful not to generalise that 'Richards are more rational that Judys'... controlled tests need to be conducted!

23. Television evangelist Falwell dies at 73

Comment #41230 by aleprechaunist on May 15, 2007 at 4:46 pm

Hope he didn't pass on too many of the genes that code for him... other than that I wish him well!

24. Now Muslims Get Their Own Laws In Britian

Comment #36779 by aleprechaunist on May 2, 2007 at 9:42 am

wagnepre,

Maybe they just like the weather here ;-P

Seriously, it's not the point - you can live in a country and be free to criticize, as long as you don't interfere with the the rule of law. That's called participating in the democratic process.

In this instance I don't feel the rule of law is under threat, and the vast majority of people in this country (which is 97% non-muslim) would be loath to put up with any unsolicited sharia shennanigans.

25. Science and Religion in Islam

Comment #36680 by aleprechaunist on May 2, 2007 at 2:19 am

I also listen to the POI podcast regularly, but I'd disagree with cassdenata on one point - I find the interviewer's take on 'playing devil's advocate' a little ham-fisted at times. He tends to get his guests to reiterrate points that have already been dealt with adequately.

Still, it's a minor niggle.. there are some great guests, and any program which seeks to promote clear-headedness and rational thinking has to be a good thing. It's well worth checking out the show archives, btw.

26. Now Muslims Get Their Own Laws In Britian

Comment #36679 by aleprechaunist on May 2, 2007 at 2:03 am

As long as the UK legal system trumps any attempts to intitiate full-blown sharia activities, I don't see the relevance of this article.

Like it or lump it, in our society there is no law against a group of like-minded people getting together and following a set of shared values provided it doesn't conflict with the law of the land, and impinge on peoples' rights...

27. Christians at Bible publishers have their throats cut

Comment #33014 by aleprechaunist on April 19, 2007 at 2:43 am

NJS,

Be careful not to fall into a trap. We should be talking about the number of murders comitted 'as a direct result' of a secular worldview as against those comitted as a direct result of a religious doctrine.

Atheists might well have committed more murders than all the religious groups put together, but that would still be missing the point...

28. Christians at Bible publishers have their throats cut

Comment #33005 by aleprechaunist on April 19, 2007 at 1:57 am

At best, religion provides a sense of community based on a simple but antiquated ethical framework which is ill-equipped to adapt to new knowledge about the world and sits rather uncomfortably with modern science. At worst it leads to this sort of thing...

29. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32426 by aleprechaunist on April 17, 2007 at 3:40 am

Logicel: What do you like about Irish wakes?

...just my morbid (and somewhat sarcastic in this instance) sense of humour! Although, you do get to see a lot of extended family that you haven't seen in yonks...

30. Irish poll shows parents no longer want to force religion on to children

Comment #32390 by aleprechaunist on April 17, 2007 at 1:45 am

I agree also, Logicel. Eventually it should become blatantly obvious that if you try educating kids about all five bazillion deities, it won't leave much time for maths and PE, and the country will no longer be competitive...

One thing though, regarding Irish catholicism... I hope we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and lose our knack for throwing a damn good wake! ;-)

31. The Selfish Green

Comment #29681 by aleprechaunist on April 4, 2007 at 3:44 am

hmm... thanks for that, Cheshirecat. If true, I stand corrected on that point ;-)

32. The Selfish Green

Comment #29679 by aleprechaunist on April 4, 2007 at 3:22 am

Unless I'm mistaken, the problem with nuclear (quite apart from the waste containment problem) is that it produces weapons grade material as a byproduct. Surely widespread use of atomic fission for power generation in a religiously motivated world would eventually result in devastating nuclear exchanges unless there were powerful international bodies (with teeth) to control things.

33. Hell is real and eternal: Pope

Comment #28365 by aleprechaunist on March 29, 2007 at 1:24 am

"The pope is retarded."

...or simply a fraud. Put a silly hat on your head and talk funny (as these religious types are inclined to - Alistair McGrath is a shining example of the voice thing), and people will buy into any old crap you might care to spout...

34. Peanut Butter, The Atheist's Nightmare!

Comment #27914 by aleprechaunist on March 27, 2007 at 8:02 am

"I understand that in parts of asia the cultural norm is to hold the banana by the stem and peal it from the other end!"

Heathens!

35. Believers are away with the fairies

Comment #27902 by aleprechaunist on March 27, 2007 at 7:11 am

I agree with you, Beeline. I think the grip of religion has to be weakened from within.

As far as changing attitudes goes, I disagree with those who say that the individualistic approach is destined to fail. If atheism failed to take root in the past, it is because its advocates were mainly among the intellectual elite, with priviliged access to the kind of information that tends to put religion to the sword.

(Btw Luthien, It would seem we are indeed from the same island, however unpatriotic the aforementioned tag might seem ;-) )

36. Believers are away with the fairies

Comment #27827 by aleprechaunist on March 27, 2007 at 1:50 am

gcdavis - I take your point, but I'm inclined to think that the best way to campaign for a lack of religious belief is to continue to spread the very powerful counter-religious memes at our disposal, and to do so in our everyday conversation...

Let the memes do the work!

37. Believers are away with the fairies

Comment #27824 by aleprechaunist on March 27, 2007 at 1:33 am

Wow, that 'Intelligence2' debate promises to be quite something - what with Grayling, Dawkins, and Hitchens on the panel. I wish I'd known about it sooner - hope we get the podcast at some point...

Excellent article btw. It's certainly interesting that the religion issue has only re-emerged recently.. hopefully the squazillions of issues of 'The God Delusion' that have been flying off shelves will innoculate the general populace against this incipient new faithism..

38. Britain Proposes Allowing Schools to Forbid Full-Face Muslim Veils

Comment #26922 by aleprechaunist on March 22, 2007 at 10:11 am

HunterZolomon..

Right, we seem to agree. It may be difficult to debate this without bringing religion into it, but not impossible... I mean, why complicate the issue?

39. Britain Proposes Allowing Schools to Forbid Full-Face Muslim Veils

Comment #26919 by aleprechaunist on March 22, 2007 at 9:27 am

"Ah, so one should refrain from criticizing the religious aspects of the niqab because misogyny isn't illegal in Britain?"

No. We should refrain from 'banning' things for such reasons... that's my point. The ability to criticise someone's belief system is an essential part of free speech..

Yorker, not banning something is not 'pandering'. And what exactly would you define as the 'cultural norms' of Britain, apart from 'not wearing that form of headdress' ?? On your last point (number 5) I couldn't agree more!

40. Britain Proposes Allowing Schools to Forbid Full-Face Muslim Veils

Comment #26910 by aleprechaunist on March 22, 2007 at 9:04 am

Hunterzolomon... contrary to what you may think, misogyny is not actually illegal in this country. Nor is any form of bigoted view. The argument should be kept within the realm of 'niqabs are impractical in the classroom, along with Ned Kelly style hats, balaclavas, and paper bags with slots'.

Religion shouldn't come into it. Attempting to ban garments purely on the basis of the ideologies they are perceived to represent is not a road we want to start going down...

41. Britain Proposes Allowing Schools to Forbid Full-Face Muslim Veils

Comment #26871 by aleprechaunist on March 22, 2007 at 4:45 am

This debate is being characterised as an inter-racial, inter-cultural one... It's not. It's about the impracticality of covering one's face at school, and by extension the impracticality of placing superstitious pieties alongside medical concerns as adequate reason to override accepted educational wisdom in a secular state.

42. A Brief History of Disbelief

Comment #26661 by aleprechaunist on March 21, 2007 at 2:53 am

I like Miller's description God as a 'strange glottally-stopped monosyllable'...

43. Response to Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris

Comment #25322 by aleprechaunist on March 12, 2007 at 5:04 am

Well... he's excercised his free speech. Fair enough. I would hope that he's not a particularly important or influential figure!

44. Why there are almost no genuine atheists

Comment #24512 by aleprechaunist on March 7, 2007 at 2:14 am

The author seems to think that the concept of a divine creator brings more meaning to existence.

This is ultimately bogus for the same reason that the insistence on a first cause leads to 'turtles all the way down'... it is no less nihilistic than the atheist position. If anything, it is more so.

45. Long live satire

Comment #24426 by aleprechaunist on March 6, 2007 at 3:40 pm

Quite right, Jack Rawlinson. And considering that atheism is apparently 'another religion' our sensibilities really ought to be given special consideration...

46. Atheist Apostle

Comment #24340 by aleprechaunist on March 6, 2007 at 4:25 am

"[to demolish the moral and intellectual pretensions of Christianity in its most committed forms] has been tried before, of course."

- not in the age of the internet and mass media...

47. [Warning: Graphic] Children's foreheads slashed in Muslim saint's name

Comment #20021 by aleprechaunist on January 31, 2007 at 5:05 am

Disturbing stuff. Physical mutilation seems to be a frequent feature of religions - I guess it's a powerful way of tying someone into a faith, and 'implanting' group identity. Baptism just doesn't have the same 'oomf', it would seem...

48. 'Hobbit' human 'is a new species'

Comment #19824 by aleprechaunist on January 30, 2007 at 4:47 am

Oh boy... hobbits are real? What next - Unicorns? Fairies? Thor with his hammer?? Damn...

49. Blasphemy Challenge on FOX

Comment #19632 by aleprechaunist on January 29, 2007 at 2:07 am

Damn, Fox News must be very confident of its audience to feel it can present this as dispassionate journalism.. One can only hope it serves only a small section of the population.

50. The Bright Revolution

Comment #19114 by aleprechaunist on January 25, 2007 at 3:14 am

How about calling ourselves 'blights', the irksome antidote to the 'virus' of religion!

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