The turn of the year was a bit of a rough ride. My grandmother died, my last living grandparent, and although I did not have a deep personal relation with her, it felt as if a phase in my life had ended. Unexpectedly, her death has led me into one of the most profound crises of faith […]
Tag: science
Hefner on Meaning Making
What do we want to accomplish by bringing theology and science together? Lutheran theologian Philip Hefner offers us an answer in an article of just over ten years ago[1]. In this blogpost I summarize the main points of the article. Hefner argues that the significance of the interaction between science and theology lies in the meaning […]
Book Review: Scientism, by John Cowburn SJ
– Tom Uytterhoeven – (An expanded version of this review will be published, together with many more reviews and reports on recent developments in the field of science and religion, in the next issue of ESSSAT-News. See here for more info on ESSSAT-membership) Is scientism a word we need, and if so: for what purposes […]
Cooperation Against Racism
– Tom Uytterhoeven – Although I am not a scientist, I think this is a great experiment. It shows us what mechanisms lie beneath ugly features of human social living, like racism and gender discrimination. Moreover, it shows us how to decrease the prevalence of these features, at least in the case of racism. Let […]
Interview With Judith Rich Harris (The Nurture Assumption)
– Tom Uytterhoeven – I noticed this interview with Judith Rich Harris, who wrote The Nurture Assumption. Without endorsing her book as the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (here's a balanced review), I must admit I liked the book when I read it a few years ago (in the Dutch edition). More than […]
Dreaming of a White Christmas on Different Levels of Reality
– Tom Uytterhoeven – It's that time of the year again when people start dreaming of (or dreading?) snow. Is it Christmas romanticism? Or just the memory of playing in the snow as a child? Maybe that's why the Calvin-makes-a-snowman cartoons are so popular… This video shows us different aspects of snow. That […]
Science and Religion: Has the Conflict Model Won the Popularity Vote?
– Tom Uytterhoeven – This morning my wife posted a picture on my Facebook wall. It shows two Post It notes on a wall in a community center in a Belgian town. The center had organized a cultural activity for kids: they were invited to write down who their hero was. So one kid posted: […]
Chomsky and the evolution of language – libcom.org (blog)
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution Chomsky and the evolution of language libcom.org (blog) Noam Chomsky recently appeared on the Skeptically Speaking podcast to discuss the evolution of language. Tom Uytterhoeven‘s insight: Not only Noam Chomsky, but also Terrence Deacon, and Con Slobodchikoff are interviewed here on the biological roots of language. Definitely an interesting […]
Two major research projects reveal origins of human monogamy — too bad their … – National Post
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution National Post Two major research projects reveal origins of human monogamy — too bad their … Tom Uytterhoeven‘s insight: I posted on the evolutionary origins of monogamy last night, and this seems a good follow-up. It shows how science works: formulating theories, testing them, wagering alternative explanations… And it […]
Evolution of monogamy in humans the result of infanticide risk
See on Scoop.it – Cultural evolution The threat of infants being killed by unrelated males is the key driver of monogamy in humans and other primates. (Evolution of monogamy in humans the result of infanticide risk: The threat of infants being killed by unrelate… Tom Uytterhoeven‘s insight: Food for thought: if monogamy is the result […]
Weekly Gardening 