Religious belief the world over has a strenuous relationship with intellectualism. But why?

Religion's smart-people problem: The shaky intellectual foundations of absolute faith(Credit: Wikimedia)

Should you believe in a God? Not according to most academic philosophers. A comprehensive survey revealed that only about 14 percent of English speaking professional philosophers are theists.  As for what little religious belief remains among their colleagues, most professional philosophers regard it as a strange aberration among otherwise intelligent people. Among scientists the situation is much the same. Surveys of the members of the National Academy of Sciences, composed of the most prestigious scientists in the world, show that religious belief among them is practically nonexistent, about 7 percent.
Continue reading Religious belief the world over has a strenuous relationship with intellectualism. But why?

How Neo-Ren is this?

Consciousness Is Not Mysterious It’s just the brain describing itself—to itself.

 

A visitor takes a picture of the sculpture "The Thinker" by French artist Auguste Rodin at the National Museum of China in Beijing November 28, 2014. A total of 140 original works created by Rodin, a 19th century sculptor, were on display from Thursday, including The Thinker, The Age of Bronze, Monument to Balzac and other representative works, in Beijing in honour of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, local media reported. REUTERS/Jason Lee   (CHINA - Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTR4FWVV
A visitor takes a picture of the sculpture “The Thinker” by French artist Auguste Rodin at the National Museum of China in Beijing November 28, 2014. A total of 140 original works created by Rodin, a 19th century sculptor, were on display from Thursday, including The Thinker, The Age of Bronze, Monument to Balzac and other representative works, in Beijing in honour of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, local media reported. REUTERS/Jason Lee (CHINA – Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT) – RTR4FWVV

When Isaac Newton was 17 years old, he performed a series of experiments with prisms and light beams. Within weeks he discovered the scientific explanation for color, invented the reflecting telescope, proposed the particle theory of light, and deduced that the human eye contained three receptor types corresponding to the three primary colors. Not bad for a teen. Continue reading Consciousness Is Not Mysterious It’s just the brain describing itself—to itself.

How Neo-Ren is this?