Philosophy of Science – Page 170

VIEW HEADLINES ONLY

Philosophy on the Phringe

December 17, 2011

Some philosophy is just common sense. Some is abstruse, recondite, and technically challenging. But when employed against common sense, such as to support the belief that everything came from nothing, philosophy can get downright weird.

Bible and Theology

Good Science Requires Good Ethics

December 16, 2011

Science is conducted by humans for humans. It is not done in a vacuum. Even the lone researcher working in a basement hopes to make a discovery worth sharing. The need for ethical science shows most clearly when humans experiment on humans – with or without their consent. Two recent articles underscore the indispensability of moral grounds for science, and a third raises questions about the source of morality.

Awards

Hopping Fish and Other Darwin Mysteries

December 12, 2011

The chieftans of evolutionary theory insist that their doctrines have come a long way since Darwin. Discoveries in molecular biology, population genetics, biogeography, paleontology have left the Victorian concepts of evolution outdated and antiquated, they would say. Yet a look at the evolutionary literature shows otherwise. Simplistic just-so stories, Darwinian phrases like “survival of the fittest” and “missing link,” iconic fossils, and antiquated principles continue to be the rule, as the following articles illustrate.

Amazing Facts

Biomimetics for Your Christmas Wish List

December 8, 2011

Biomimetics (the imitation of nature) continues to promise cool gadgets and useful materials that will someday yield prized gifts under the tree. Some of them might even save your life.

Bible and Theology

The Science of Atheism

December 6, 2011

Science news sites have recently included some unusual articles: reports about the science of atheism. What can scientists say about atheism without leaving the domain of science altogether?

Awards

Evolutionists Flaunt Falsifying Fossils

November 26, 2011

If Darwin’s theory were true, would you expect to find fossils that haven’t changed for a billion years? Would you expect that kind of stasis for organisms that lived in vastly different conditions than today? Would you expect, furthermore, to find an explosion of diverse forms of life suddenly, without ancestors? Rather than mourn their fate, evolutionists flaunt these falsifying fossils as trophies of their theory.

Bible and Theology

The Science of Thanksgiving

November 24, 2011

Should science tread into areas of virtue? Here’s how a science news entry begins: “Rather than rolling your eyes when it’s your turn to bow your head and give thanks, try being grateful. The result just might be good for you. From boosting your mood to improving your relationships, research shows that being thankful is […]

Awards

Europa Plus Water Does Not Equal Life

November 18, 2011

NASA gave one of its high-profile press releases this week to dazzle reporters: Europa, the icy moon of Jupiter, may have large lakes of liquid water under its icy shell, closer to the surface than the deep ocean long believed to exist miles down. The curious domes rising above the ice seem to indicate heating that Would the reporters resist the temptation to speculate about life?

Bible and Theology

Why Scientists Need Christianity

November 16, 2011

The exposure of a decade-long career of fraud by a social psychologist two weeks ago sent the scientific community reeling. In the aftermath, another social psychologist claims that social psychology can heal itself with its own principles. Buried within her arguments, though, are Christian presuppositions.

Bible and Theology

Phillip Johnson Re-Buries Darwin

November 13, 2011

Darwin may still rule from the grave, but Phillip Johnson has good reason to hope Darwin’s ghost will decay with the old evolutionist’s interred bones. A father of the intelligent design movement, Johnson wrote and spoke and influenced many with his focus on the linch pin of Darwinism, its insistence on undirected natural processes. It’s […]

Awards

Darwin Still Rules from the Grave

November 12, 2011

Darwin died in 1882, but more than any other scientist, seems to live on in the science news. Here are some recent examples. The question is: do any of these articles really have anything to do with the theory that made him famous? Or is some other dynamic at work that keeps him in the forefront?

Astronomy

Selling Confabulation as Science

November 11, 2011

Science is supposed to be all about demonstrable proof through experiment. Should some scientists get away with confabulation – mere storytelling? Look at these recent headlines published on science news sites and consider whether some serious housecleaning is in order.

Early Man

Man, Mammals, and Ice Ages

November 7, 2011

What do scientists really know about early man and the creatures in his habitat? Some clues can be found by following science news in a historical fashion: that is, to look for reversals of previously-held opinions, surprises in fossils, and other evidences that scientists are not really making progress in their theories, despite the common […]

Bible and Theology

Psych-Man Fraud Exposed

November 5, 2011

A popular social psychologist in the Netherlands has been exposed of committing “fraud on an astonishing scale,” forging data in dozens of scientific papers for nearly a decade. The exposè doesn’t just destroy his reputation. The fraud will cause “huge damage,” said Susan Fiske, a social psychologist at Princeton University,” because “His work is very central—or was.”

Awards

Spin or Sin

November 1, 2011

You are bureau chief for a science news organization. Your job is to convince the public that science is right, and their doubts are wrong. You believe in reason and evidence, but you are frustrated that large segments of the population doubt the scientific consensus on certain hot-topic issues. The way to reach them, you say, is by coaxing people they already respect to convey the message, and use graphics to present the evidence. Sound reasonable?

All Posts by Date

[archives type="yearly" cat_id="18"]