Silver Bullet asked: “Randal, Let me pose a scenario to you: The Christian god apparently once commanded that someone be stoned to death for picking up sticks on a Saturday. Was this objectively moral? If so, how?” AcesLucky has since fixated upon this question like a border collie fixated upon a sheep (or, in suburbia, […]
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Morality, the Divine Right of Kings, and Democracy
In the last few days I have been hammering on the objective existence of moral facts because this creates a problem for naturalistic and atheistic views of the world (i.e. they don’t have room for such facts). There have been some noble attempts to sidetrack me from this singular purpose. The most notable, posited by […]
Paranormal Activity 2 and Moral Explanation
Watching “Paranormal Activity 2” last week left me impressed. It is a very effective film. The premise, in half a sentence or less, is that security cameras set up all over a house start recording some very unusual activity. Initially the father is confident that it can be explained by appeal to natural causes. For […]
Gingerbread lattes and Gary Ridgeway
You might call it a case of double dipping. I decided to put a response to James in a post. But since it was buried in a few threads back and the issue is so important (and since I’m in a crunch period this week) I felt thrice justified in doing so. James is concerned […]
On being skeptical of the skeptics
In “Surely you can’t be serious” I wrote that “The evil of the cannibal seeking to eat Jim is, to put it bluntly, a metaphysically necessary truth.” Brenda responded: “Well, that is a claim. One you have not proved must be true. I don’t see how you can ‘prove’ that cannibalism is necessarily wrong the […]
On the pap people say when other people die
Jim Clench was a fixture on the Canadian classic rock scene as a bass player and song writer for both April Wine and Bachman Turner Overdrive. Perhaps his best known song is April Wine’s perennial concert favorite “Oowatanite”. Not exactly Gershwin, but the song, and Clench himself, have earned a mention in the liner notes of modern arena […]
Surely you can’t be serious!
“Airplane” inexplicably did not win the Palme ‘d’Or at Cannes. Looking back, it is hard to believe that it was passed over when you have riveting scenes like this. But this discussion is not really about “Airplane”. Rather, it is about the fact that there are things people say to us to which we rightly respond “Surely you […]
Nancy Sinatra’s boots were made for walkin’, but what was she made for?
Nancy Sinatra topped the charts in 1966 by singing about the teleology of her go go boots. In short, they were made for walkin’. (And pretty soon they’re gonna walk all over you.) In terms of anthems for women’s liberation this figures in somewhere below Helen Reddy’s “I am Woman” but perhaps a notch above […]
Open house at Randalrauser.com
My new site has been up and running for a few weeks now and the blog has been going for about two weeks. With that in mind, I have worked hard to stage an open house and I’d like you to join us. So feel free to look around and make yourself at home. There are chips […]
Why Sam Harris should not go into retail
Imagine a store called “Harris Mart” which advertises great prices while proudly touting the slogan: “All our packages are made in the USA!” Anxious to shop American, support the local economy, and benefit from the quality of fellow American citizens, the locals all flock to Harris Mart. … until they discover that the advertising is, to say the least, […]
Sam Harris’ moral claims refuted, rebutted, and rejected
Let’s recap the case I present against Sam Harris in “The Sam Harris Sinkhole.” He purports to offer a scientific ground for ethics consistent with a naturalistic view of the world, but his whole argument depends on assuming that sentience is a morally norative criterion. Thus, he must assume the fact in order to explain it, a model […]
A cannibalistic serial killer enters retirement
A cannibalistic serial killer entering retirement reflects on his accomplishments. Trophies litter his cramped apartment — bloody panties in the living room and frozen fingers in the fridge — and he values them like the retiring company man values that Rolex watch given for thirty years of faithful service. He knows that others value those mundane things […]
Better than Antiques Road Show
I love watching the Antiques Road Show, for I’ve always had a thing for the discovery of hidden treasures. Every time somebody discovers that an old lamp they bought at a garage sale is a $20,000 Tiffany it brings a wistful smile to my eye. When I was younger I had a dream of discovering the […]
The Sam Harris Sinkhole
I don’t have time to read Sam Harris’ new book, but I do have time to watch him talk for twenty minutes, summarizing the main thesis in a TED talk. And so, thanks to Tory Ninja forwarding this link, I got a sense of the book’s thesis. But first a disclaimer: this is not a review […]
