Bradley Monton on the goals of science

Posted on February 21, 2011 by me

Food for thought:

“If science really is permanently committed to methodological naturalism – the philosophical position that restricts all explanations in science to naturalistic explanations –  it follows that the aim of science is not generating true theories. Instead, the aim of science would be something like: generating the best theories that can be formulated subject to the restriction that the theories are naturalistic. More and more evidence could come in suggesting that a supernatural being exists, but scientific theories wouldn’t be allowed to acknowledge that possibility.”

– Bradley Monton, author of Seeking God in Science: An Atheist Defends Intelligent Design

As the title to his book indicates, Monton is an atheist (some may call him an agnostic). But, he’s one of the few atheist writers who seems to be a true skeptic, open to himself being wrong.

Posted in Faith, Science & Doubt | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Leadership as gift-giving

Posted on February 20, 2011 by me

From my other blog:

Everyone has gifts. A true leader not only recognizes this, but empowers people to use those gifts.

Everyone also has needs. I need your gifts, and you need mine. No man is an island, not even the CEO or board chairman or head pastor. A healthy, growing organization requires an understanding that all relationships within the organization are reciprocal—that is, I give to you, and you give to me.

True leadership is about gift-giving. As I’ve mentioned before, leaders will look for, and recognize, the needs of those around them and look for ways to meet those needs, whether they are a co-laborer or the boss.

True leadership is also about receiving gifts from others. If someone isn’t willing to admit their needs and accept the gifts of others, they aren’t leading, they’re merely managing (if that), and everyone suffers for it.

Read more.

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If lying is always wrong, do you want to be right?

Posted on February 19, 2011 by me

Hadley Arkes writes an interesting article today on the rightness or wrongness of lying, in When Speaking Falsely is Right. An excerpt:

… The point is: Not every taking of property is a theft. Not ever killing is a murder. A “murder” is an “unjustified killing.” An innocent person, set upon unjustly, could not be unjustified if lethal force offered the only means of rescuing himself from that unwarranted assault. Plainly, we could not put on the same plane the killing done by a Hitler and the killing done by those who would resist being killed unjustly by a Hitler.

In the same way, not every act of speaking falsely is a “lie.” As many people have recognized, nothing wrong has taken place when children decline to tell their father of the surprise they are planning for his birthday. A “lie” is an unjustified act of speaking falsely, as a murder is an unjustified act of killing. The untruth becomes a lie when it is directed to a wrongful purpose, as in deceiving for the sake of fraud and for the hurting of the victim. …

I’ve always noted that the 9th Commandment states, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,” not “Don’t lie.”  On the other hand, Satan is known as the “father of lies”—but is he the father of all lies (or untruths)? How much evil would come from always telling the truth—such as the example used of hiding Jews from the Nazis?

It’s an interesting question. Is there a time when lying is the right thing to do?

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The alden swan dot com Wordle

Posted on February 17, 2011 by me

From wordle.net, here’s a graphic representation of words used in my blog, with the most-used being the largest.

I don’t know how it chooses the words, however, as at least one word in the image has only been used twice, ever. But, it’s kind of cool, nonetheless.

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