beliefs

Michael Shermer’s newest work is a keen edge in a world of dull blades. Finally someone has come along and written on this subject providing actual scientific basis and biological evidence pointing to Man’s never ending struggle with his own brain and its propensity to paint itself into a...

I like aliens and UFO's, admittedly lots are fakes but some real ones must be out there. If you are going to use drakes equation or a similar idea, then there must be life somewhere. It can't be the case that in the whole of vast space we are unique and alone, there has to be some more like...

Mentioned in the Swine flu thread but surely worth a thread of it's own. What 'skeptics' really believe about vaccines, medicine, consciousness and the universe. Courtesy of Natural News. • Skeptics believe that ALL vaccines are safe and effective (even if they've never been tested), that...

OK, following on from some comments in another thread, I am getting interested in how beliefs work. I have written a little on this before, a couple of years ago. On that occasion I was involved in a discussion on the "meme theory", which seemed to fail to me in it's basic analogy of beliefs as...

OK, the above is something that hi-fi bods come out with regularly, as a reason for buying expensive hi-fi or keeping their MP3 files at extremely high sampling rates. But I don't see how it can be true. :confused: Assuming a high frequency tone affects a lower one, the resulting sound can...

So in this post: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113235 the person found this fliar: http://www.revivalmovement.org/acatalog/info_115.html I thought this quote was interesting: What would your answer be to that old lady?

How does a theist, or other believer, decide which beliefs to have? In another thread, a Christian asks how an atheist makes this decision, but I think it is a much more interesting question how a believer does it. This is because the atheist's life is NOT centered around a belief system, and...

So, Recently I saw a thread where an atheist basically made a post showing why his belief system (in this case Materialistic Humanism) was superior to theistic beliefs. What I would like to know is: How do you decide your belief system is the true correct Way? What's the process you use? What...

I read a story in yesterday's 'Boston Now' a free newspaper in my area that reports more and more children aren't being vaccinated against diseases. The headline reads - 'Parents may be claiming bogus religious exemption." In short parents are claiming that getting their kids vaccinated violates...

Theists will not defend their beliefs logically though they violate the most basic fundamentals of critical thinking. Why the free ride? If a person believes something and wishes to force that view upon others (bring creationism / intelligent design in school, even though it has no evidence to...

I made an error with the poll, the second 'Other' option should read 'DON'T believe' I thought I'd post a poll to see if there really is a tendency for 'debunkers' "back Bush" or actually be neocons etc. Although even if that is true it has no bearing on the facts but I thought it would be...

Hi. My name is Patrick and I am conducting research for a PhD in Psychology at Newcastle University, UK. I am conducting a study on beliefs and personality and am looking for participants. If you have 10-20 minutes to spare, then please help me out and go to the link below. Most people find...

Hello, I've been wanting to write this for days. I watched the pinklady threads with interest. Towards the beginning, I was even tempted to ask her a question, but that opportunity ended when the thread took a turn and pinklady stormed out, which was no great loss. It was clear he/she was here...

So, I was arguing on myspace (I know, I should probably stop right here....) and the topic came up about what makes one a true christian. Christians want the "get out of evil free" card by dismissing an evil committed by a christian by claiming, "well, they are not true christians". I argued...

This question's been bugging me so I'd appreciate an answer.

If Theists predominately believe what they do based on emotion rather than intellect, isn’t it doubtful that intellectual argument will encourage them to question or change their beliefs? Perhaps a more “touchy-feely” compassionate and sympathetic approach might work better. Any suggestions?

Karl Marx stated that - “Religion is the opiate of the masses”. To expand on his theme, I would like to suggest that - Emotionally based beliefs are the opiates of the masses. Belief in a God (religion) is an emotionally based belief, but other beliefs such as astrology, faith healing, tarot...

My mother-in-law believes in ghosts. Any unexplained creak in her old house is attributed to their charming antics. Any small thing gone missing has been moved by their spectral hands. She knows who they are — she has names for them, and even has pictures which, to my eye, appear suspiciously...

I ran across an interesting web site while reading one of my favorite, online comics. It is a collection of strange beliefs different people had as children. An example of the strange / odd / wonderful but debunked childhood beliefs: "When I was a nipper my older sister, by seven years, used...

I just watched CNN and the interviews several Catholic brothers/monks and Randall Terry ( who here is seeking to protect life while he demands the Bible OK’s the death penalty for gays). Statements made and repeated that her husband is evil a killer and that Jeb Bush should ignore 24 courts...

There often seems to be a correlation between what people believe and their reported hallucinations. For instance the alien abduction scene with the small men with big heads and huge black eyes that so many different people seem to experience. People who experience religious visions is another...

How many scientists have paranormal beliefs? About 93% of scientists seem to be athiests and I can imagine the statistics might be similar in regard to paranormal beliefs. Would be interesting to see statistics about the different paranormal beliefs as well, if such has been measured. I'm...

It's our favourite mentalist Derren Browne and it's on tomorrow (7th Jan). It's called Messiah And in the words of his website: They're keeping the content secret (as with his other specials) but I reckon he's going to convince groups of Americans he is some form of Messiah and start his...

Dear Sirs, I have been struck and displeased, when browsing various forums concerning religion, by the complete lack of reason people seem to be able to give to justify their (very strongly, and sometimes dogmatically held) opinions. Descartes said that we ought not to...

http://www.courttv.com/trials/exorcist/070804_ctv.html The brother of a minister on trial for suffocating an autistic child during an exorcism told jurors Thursday morning that it was God who "took" the child, not the defendant's violent ritual. You christians should grow up, then maybe this...

Not surprisingly, Islam has its 'end-times' crowd, too. Sound Familiar? Please click the link before commenting. edited to add:This is from National Review.

I’ve been reading “The Portable Voltaire”. It includes some selections from the “Philosophical Dictionary”. From the entry on Astrology: Voltaire made these observations about astrology over 200 years ago. So why does this nonsense persist? A better understanding of the causes of diseases...

Axioms might be beliefs that everyone considers self evident, but doesn't that still make them beliefs?

How important do you think it is that a person and their partner, whether dating or married, have common religious beliefs? If not common, how compatible do you think they need to be? Obviously, a YEC fundy and a strong atheist probably aren't going to get along too well, but with two less...

Why Bad Beliefs Don't Die by Gregory W. Lester This is a realy good article. It gave me an insight into mechanisms of psychology and explained why people I know wouldn't change their mind once I explained to them the boring reality of the idiomotor phenomenon in dowsing. I just read it and...