abortion

A Strange Case of Metaphysics

Read time: 6 minutes

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 …

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Arguing Abortion: Pick your Battlefield

Pregnant woman with scan picture
Read time: 6 minutes

Being a contentious topic, talking about abortion can be difficult. There are two general sides: "pro-life" and "pro-choice". These two often approach the topic from fundamentally different perspectives. This can make it difficult to have a meaningful and persuasive discussion. Instead, emotions get charged which can make the discussion even more difficult.

In this article I intend to describe one way in which to keep the discussion focussed and, hopefully, fruitful. Read more …

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The Hapless Watchmaker

Richard Dawkins
Read time: 9 minutes

On Wednesday, renowned evolutionary biologist and new atheist Richard Dawkins sparked outrage by stating that foetuses diagnosed with Down Syndrome should summarily be aborted1. In this article I argue that while Dawkins is being consistent with his beliefs and views of how the world works, he needs to take care when pronouncing value judgements on individuals. I do this primarily by pointing out an awkward truth about naturalistic evolution. Read more …

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Is Nelson Mandela Still a Person?

Nelson Mandela
Read time: 10 minutes

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 …

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