Discovery Institute's Blog, page 210

Wesley Smith's War on Humans Is Out Now in Paperback

Our colleague Wesley J. Smith is a crucial member of the team here at ENV, explaining the human costs that go along with the reign of materialism and Darwinism in education and intellectual life: the impact on the picture we carry around in our minds of what it means to be a human being.

He's a profound, humane, compassionate thinker. As a journalist, Wesley covers a beat that's otherwise scandalously neglected by the media, Left and Right. I thought his comments on dignity yesterday were esp...

On Fermi's Paradox: Challenging the Principle of Mediocrity

Editor's Note : With the release last week of Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Interstellar, dealing with the prospect of colonizing worlds beyond our planet, we are pleased to present a new series at ENV, "Exoplanets." Daniel Bakken is anengineer who teachesastronomy at the college level, and an entrepreneur in compound semiconductor crystal growth. In a series of articles he will critically examine recent claims about exoplanets beyond our solar system, asking whether our own planet Earth is...

Euphemisms Aside, Human Dignity Is Intrinsic

Beware movements that engineer words and deploy gooey euphemisms to further an agenda. It generally means there is something very wrong with that agenda.

In the wake of Brittany Maynard's death, suicide promoters are now using the word "dignity" as a synonym forsuicide, morethan implying thatdying naturally is not dignity. That is not only cruel, it is wrong.

Dignity is intrinsic. Sick and dying people seeking to be assured they still have it look at us -- our faces -- likemirrors. If they see...

Let Us Bow Our Heads and Pray: Sunday Is Carl Sagan Day

Well, maybe not pray, but certainly adopt a suitably worshipful attitude while venerating an icon of materialism. Back when the new Cosmos series with Neil Tyson was getting ready to air, Kimberly Winston of Religion News Service noted the existence of a special day of which I was not previously aware. November 9, this upcoming Sunday, is celebrated by "atheists, agnostics, humanists and other "nones'" as Carl Sagan Day, eagerly anticipated as an occasion to renew their commitment:

Humanists...

Let Us Bow Our Heads and Pray: Sunday is Carl Sagan Day

Well, maybe not pray, but certainly adopt a suitably worshipful attitude while venerating an icon of materialism. Back when the new Cosmos series with Neil Tyson was getting ready to air, Kimberly Winston of Religion News Service noted the existence of a special day of which I was not previously aware. November 9, this upcoming Sunday, is celebrated by "atheists, agnostics, humanists and other "nones'" as Carl Sagan Day, eagerly anticipated as an occasion to renew their commitment:

Humanists...

Putting Richard Dawkins in His Place, Harvard's E.O. Wilson Calls Him a "Journalist"

From The Guardian:

The war of words between the biologists EO Wilson and Richard Dawkins has reignited after the Harvard professor described his Oxford counterpart as a "journalist".

In an interview with Evan Davis on BBC2's Newsnight to promote his latest book, Wilson was asked about his differing view of natural selection compared with that of Dawkins.

Wilson answered: "There is no dispute between me and Richard Dawkins and there never has been, because he's a journalist, and journalists a...

Illustra Media Takes Paul Nelson on a "Dolphin Safari"

Living Waters, the newest production from Illustra Media, will explore remarkable evidence for intelligent design revealed in the lives of aquatic animals including dolphins and humpback whales. Discovery Institute fellow Paul Nelson recently went out for a first-hand look.

Whale watching is a popular California pastime, and one of the finest rigs in the world is owned and operated by Dave Anderson, owner of Captain Dave's Whale and Dolphin Safari. His boat has a unique "eye-pod" viewing area...

Until Science Kills Death -- Suicide!

Good grief. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen has written a ridiculous column about Brittany Maynard, in which he replaces argument withinsult and makes naked emotional assertions in place ofprincipled reasoning.

Cohen supportsMaynard for her "courage" in killing herself -- so harmful! -- while swallowing thetranhumanistfantasyeschatology that science will defeat death. From "The Courage of Brittany Maynard":

The death of death is fast approaching -- fast being a matter of decades or ma...

A Trope in the Evolution Debate: The Oh, So Sad Plight of the Poor Creationist Child

Bill Nye's new book is out this week, Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, and while we haven't seen a copy yet, it's interesting to read an interview with Nye by New York Times writer Jeffery DelViscio. Mr. Nye and Mr. DelViscio invoke what has become a familiar trope in the evolution debate: the plight of the poor, sad creationist child.

Nye says that after his debate with genuine creationist Ken Ham back in February, he dropped everything and turned his attention (and that of...

Interstellar: Is the Earth Rare, or Common?

Editor's Note : With the release this week of Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Interstellar , dealing with the prospect of colonizing worlds beyond our planet, we are pleased to inaugurate a new series at ENV, and welcome a new contributor. Daniel Bakken is anengineer who teachesastronomy at the college level, and an entrepreneur in compound semiconductor crystal growth. In a series of articles he will critically examine recent claims about exoplanets beyond our solar system, asking whether our...