contact@onbelief.orgUseful Links
A) Tthe Scientific Method and Skepticism
1) UK Skeptics . This site contains an informative series of articles on pseudoscience and a range of other topics.
2) In praise of bias by Taner Edis (an acknowledgement that skeptics just the same as believers are biased in their opinions)
Also see enlightening fun poked at the everyday practice of science by the same author (The real scientific method)
3) The Skeptic.com Internet site of a US based organisations 'The Skeptics Society' and ' Skeptic' magazine aiming to provide rational debate and analysis on a variety of issues. See in particular A Skeptical Manifesto
4) Why people believe strange things by Michael Shermer (for some great skeptical fun watch this talk)
5) Skeptical Inquirer Online articles
6) The Skeptics Dictionary By Robert Todd Carroll (Also available in book from)B) Belief, Faith, Secularism, Humanism and A-theism
1) BBC Programs and Internet Site:
The BBC Religions Page provides an introduction to 19 religions
'In our time' philosophy archive, 'In our time' science archive, 'In our time' religion archive
Revealing Religion: from BBC Radio 4's Analysis series (also with transcript)
2) Discussions from Edinburgh recorded on video on the Gifford Lecture Series See in particular the afternoon session.
3) The National Secular Society
4) Humanism and its aspirations. Humanist Manifesto III, a successor to the humanist Manifesto of 1933 A statement which shows that the conventionally religious and political do not have a monopoly on moral thinking. Religious people might like to consider how their own morality compares with the ideas expressed on that page.
5) Humanist Society of Scotland provides a philosophical and very practical alternative to institutionalised religion. See the HSS leaflets on weddings and funerals ad naming ceremonies for children on the HSS documents page.
6) International Humanist and Ethical Union The world union of humanist organisations. See the Amsterdam 2002 declaration
7) Council for Secular Humanism An american organisation for the non-religious
8) Progressivehumanism.com on the philosophy of humanism
9) 10 myths-and 10 Truths-About Atheism by Sam Harris. I cannot say that I agree with everything in this very clearly written piece. However I strongly suggest you read it and make up your own mind even if you would not call yourself an atheist or a skeptic.
11) Atheism.about.com/
12) A video of a TV interview with Christopher Hitchens He makes the very interesting point in relation to the notorious Sudanese Teddy Bear incident that the Koran has a very sensible prohibition of idolatry. Good point. That incident is a very interesting example how beliefs (of all kinds) become misused and altered over time and therefore require constant challenge. As Prof. David Fergusson of the University of Edinburgh put it in his Gifford Lectures, belief can sometimes and in some places become pathological.
13) The Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc. Links page
14) Why Do Atheists Care About Religion? A serious short video from a US perspective
15) Debate Unlimited by Martin Willet and others. Read interesting and thought provoking short essays
Also see the Philosophy Reference section on this site >
C) New or More Ideas for Hungry Minds
TED 'Ideas worth spreading' Stimulating videos of talks on many subjects. So good that it is hard to pick out particular talks!
The Omnivore's Next Dilemma by Michael Pollan Also see www.polyfacefarms.com No bar code.html
Queerer than we can suppose: the strangeness of science by Richard Dawkins
The Design of Life by Richard Dawkins [A personal comment on Richard Dawkins in 'The God Delusion" and in his talk listed above; it is perhaps a pity that he has so narrowly focused on religion rather than belief systems per se in these particular works.]Beyond Belief from The Science Network.org Watch very stimulating videos of conference presentations and discussions at the 3 day Beyond Belief meeting held at the Salk institute in November 2006. The subject of belief is looked at largely from the perspective of the scientist and skeptic. Some speakers and commentators from the audience comment on the lack of philosophical sophistication of some of the statements made at the conference. Despite this weakness, it is worthy of your attention if you are interested in the subject of belief, if only to see the way that some scientists think. Beyond Belief 2.0 October 31-November 2, 2007
Meaning of Life TV at http://meaningoflife.tv/
New Economic Forum An unconventional blend of utopianism and critical analytics consider some of the articles at the see for example: A well-being manifesto for a flourishing society The Happy Planet Index: An index of human well-being and environmental impact
Bigthink.com A 'conversation about ideas' in a stimulating modern multimedia format open to anyone with ideas or questions.
Edge.org taken from the About page at the Edge site " The mandate of Edge Foundation is to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society. ........ In the past few years, the playing field of American intellectual life has shifted, and the traditional intellectual has become increasingly marginalized. A 1950s education in Freud, Marx, and modernism is not a sufficient qualification for a thinking person in the 1990s. Indeed, the traditional American intellectuals are, in a sense, increasingly reactionary, and quite often proudly (and perversely) ignorant of many of the truly significant intellectual accomplishments of our time. Their culture, which dismisses science, is often nonempirical. It uses its own jargon and washes its own laundry. It is chiefly characterized by comment on comments, the swelling spiral of commentary eventually reaching the point where the real world gets lost. "
D) Varying Perspectives on Making Change and Belief Change
changingminds.org a site with useful resources on with relevance to some of themes discussed here. Written as a large number of short pages in a crisp and direct style.
Changing minds campaign by the Royal College of Psychiatry on the therapeutic value that changing thinking can bring and understanding disruptions of thinking
Change.org Changing the world through social action ( A US Site)
Climate change The Royal Societies' page on climate change we are each currently making
Does Science Make God Obsolete a series of short articles published by the Templeton Foundation
Belief Change Cycle A short article describing how beliefs change ( but irrationally titled and illustrated)
E) Changing World Views through General Science
Cosmology, Entropy (arrow of time) articles at wikipedia, Cosmology at the American Institute of Physics
Anthropic principle at wikipedia,
Design and the Anthropic Principle (from a site arguing in favour of a designed universe)Brain, memory, neuroscience, etc Go to the Philosophy Reference section > If you want a well illustrated free guide on the brain go The Anatomical Basis of Mind by Ben Best and consult the chapters that interest you.
Talks on TED in the general Category How the Mind Works see:
Brain science is about to fundamentally change computing by Jeff Hawkins
A journey to the center of your mind
Your brain is badly wired -- enjoy it! Amazing fun with optical illusions that makes you think about what you 'see'
How do ants know what to do? How do very simple creatures have a complexity of group behaviour
The Stuff of thought Steven Pinker looks at language
F) Useful Articles on Evolution and for a Natural Philosophy of Belief
On the Nature of Belief
www.onbelief.org
Scotland, 12th October 2007 and thereafter
Copyright 2007 onwards
