Scientists are often not fond of the idea of metaphysics. Physics is, of course, the study of the natural world and universe. Metaphysics is the study of what is really real. It implies that there is something beyond physics and, therefore, beyond the natural world and the physical universe. This is anathema to scientism—that is, scientific naturalism: how dare one assume that there exists something beyond nature, especially since there is no physical and testable evidence of such things?

Yet there seems to be a prominent and curious case of when metaphysics is appealed to when science disagrees with what people want to believe... Read more …

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a great man. He stood up against the injustices of Apartheid. He reached the zenith of human endeavours: achieving his life's goals, becoming a worldwide respected icon and hero, and the leader of a country which once sought to destroy him. But I believe that, to him, his greatest achievement was not his presidency—rather, it was seeing the realisation of his dreams of a free and fair South Africa liberated from hate and prejudice (regardless under whose stewardship) that was his greatest achievement. Not only was he man of greatness, but he was humble and compassionate as well, including towards his enemies. In this struggle he was of course not alone: many people stood beside him, fought with him, and fell around him in the decades-long struggle. But he could not be put down: even being sent to a prison colony could not quash his dreams. Read more …

Yesterday was World Autism Awareness Day. As my masters thesis dealt with Asperger Syndrome—which is a form of autism—autism is something that is close to my heart. I desire to see more people educated about autism; that our society can adapt to accommodate people who have autism more and integrate them as fully-fledged members of society (at least there where they are still treated like outsiders). However, as the abortion and infanticide debate continues, I fear the day when children with autism are targeted as children with Down Syndrome are today. It is clear that children are eliminated simply for the sake of the parents' convenience, so it is not far fetched to imagine that it could happen to children with autism (if we were to develop prenatal tests for autism, which do not yet exist, but could be on the way). In this article I hope to show how typising a child based on their diagnosis is a slippery slope. Read more …