Moral Heroism, Pt 2: How to Become a Hero (Or At Least Get Started)
In my first “Moral Heroism” post, I argued that empathy isn’t the only trait we need to deal with moral decisions. We also need a sense of “heroism”: The feeling […]
Awakeners & Liberators: Kate Bolick’s Nietzschean Education
In her late 2011 Atlantic cover story “All the Single Ladies,” Kate Bolick makes the case to stop treating unmarried (and often professional, highly educated) women as anomalies or deviants—not […]
Why We, as Atheists, Started a Fundraiser for Christians at Charleston
There is a stigma that non-religious people are selfish, immoral, and do not volunteer. This is probably due to several reasons, but one could be that non-religious people may donate […]
A Place on Earth: Ritual, Grief, & Mourning as an Atheist, Part 2
This is the second part in a series. Read Part 1 here. On Firmer Ground My earliest memories of Disney World aren’t so much of it as a tangible place, […]
On Privilege: Lessons from Malawi
Two months have now passed since I moved 32 km from a rural Malawian village to my current home in Mangochi—a town distinguished by its district hospital, Anglican church, small […]
The Importance of Liberal Arts Literacy: One STEM Major’s Perspective
A few posts ago, I argued for the importance of widespread scientific literacy. I claimed that “scientific literacy—in conjunction with political, mathematical, and other literacies—is a civic responsibility”. For symmetry’s […]
Moral Heroism Pt 1: Empathy’s Faults & Heroism to the Rescue
I’ve written before about the importance of teaching people to see things through the eyes of other people. One commentator pointed out that a quicker way to say “seeing things through the eyes […]
Why the Terms Social Justice Warrior & New Atheist are Useless
Labels can be an efficient way of describing a more complicated concept. However, labels with unclear definitions can cause more trouble than they are worth. Two labels which are commonly […]
Intelligent Design: ‘Forcing’ Evolution in Avengers: Age of Ultron
[SPOILER ALERT: This post discusses the plot of Avengers: Age of Ultron in detail.] “I don’t want to hear the ‘Man Was Not Meant to Meddle’ medley” is a sentiment […]
Coming Out Queer & Godless w Aadil Salam, Pt 2: Coming to American & Coming Out
Storytelling is a social catalyst and powerful force for change. The Embracing Identities Project is a series of narrative interviews about coming out as LGBTQ and atheist in a variety of communities. […]
Applied Sentience 