caseydorman

Science is, by its very nature, limited and often produces erroneous theories—probably more often than not—because it is limited by current knowledge and concepts. To argue that science can’t explain something is simply to argue that science hasn’t gotten there yet, not that science has inherent limitations. To take what science doesn’t cur…[Read more]

@simonpaynton– I’m afraid I differ with all of your points.

Evolution is a process of mutational changes that increase survival being selected by environmental conditions so that they have an advantage in reproductive success. There is no pressure to improve, raw or otherwise.  When environmental circumstances change, reproductive success is…[Read more]

@simonpaynton  Good question and the answer is yes. In my book I provide some quotes by both Gandhi and MLK, Jr. with regard to their spirituality—one rooted in Hinduism and the other in Christianity—which underlay their  belief in nonviolence. I believe that most of the leaders of nonviolent movements have had a religious basis to their work…[Read more]

@reg ,@simon—when I refer to spirituality, I am talking about a belief in a supernatural dimension (one that does not obey the laws of matter and energy), usually which is thought to provide order to the universe, but, in the past, this may have been restricted to one’s local environment (e.g  belief in the supernatural powers of local plants an…[Read more]

One doesn’t base his philosophy of nonviolence (or of many other things) on his atheism, since atheism is compatible with almost any nonreligious philosophy, including those that espouse violence. Instead, the atheist bases most of his personal philosophy on nonreligious ideas, which can include evolutionary ideas, humanistic ideas, politically…[Read more]

I think you are arguing against a position I have not taken. My argument is simply that spirituality is not a necessary condition for having a nonviolent moral philosophy. I take that position because many people have argued that one can’t have a moral philosophy that endorses nonviolence (or love or kindness), if one is an atheist, since…[Read more]

Simon: You and I agree that cooperation is an evolved trait in humans, more so than in almost any other species (not sure about bees and ants, for instance), and that most of human interaction has favored cooperation, and often self-sacrifice over direct competition or aggression, despite the common view that evolution favors aggression. But, as I…[Read more]

Michael Tomasello’s newest book, “A Natural History of Human Morality” (2016) gives a good evolutionary and historical cultural account of the development of human morality.

Simon: Thanks for the observations on my brief book. The volume by Fry sounds interesting and something I need to read. The evidence for one human killing another during the  hunter-gatherer period (which is probably more akin to murder than to war) comes from multiple sources and is conflicting, but suggestive, as summarized in Harari’s book…[Read more]

email me at caseylostcoast@gmail.com and I will send you the PDF of “Atheistic Nonviolence” (as well as to anyone else who wants it). It should be available on the UK Amazon, but I don’t mind sending the PDF , not sure how to put it into one of the website replies. Designing a culture is what we do everyday when we write laws regarding behavior…[Read more]

Evolution, being change, is not the same as creation, which may be either change or the replacement of nothing by something. Evolution does not need a force to cause or guide it, as it is the shaping of survival outcomes of both nonrandom and random events according to their survival value in their environment. Creation may or may not need a…[Read more]

The will of the non-aggressive can become the rule of the people, both because we inherit the disposition to cooperate  and sacrifice for our neighbors (as well as the disposition to dominate and to be aggressive) and because we can design a culture that rewards nonviolent behavior. Read both Michael Tomasello (e.g. “A Natural History of Human…[Read more]