Geoff Coupe's Blog

Reflections on life at “De Witte Wand”…

Category: Society

  • In Gods We Trust

    While watching the Beyond Belief videos, there were a couple of occasions when Scott Atran took the floor. The first time was when he delivered a strong attack on what, up until that point, had been presented in the conference. I had not heard of Atran before. I came across this interview with him that gives some background. I’ve also ordered a copy of his book: In Gods We Trust. I’m intrigued to learn more about his views.

  • Getting Worse

    A depressing report in today’s Guardian from Natasha Walter about the position of women in today’s Afghanistan. It would seem that the euphoria felt after the fall of the Taliban is turning out to be a false dawn. The Taliban are regrouping and, along with that, the lives of women who dare to seek out education are at risk.

  • Big Brother

    It transpires that here, in the Netherlands, Big Brother is not only watching you, but listening to you as well.

  • Philosophical Musings

    David Byrne places his entry for the 20th November in his Journal into the "Philosophical Musings" category. It’s an interesting read, ranging from climate change, the economy of China, to the wellsprings of religion. I do quibble with one thing he writes, however. He claims that Dawkins, Dennett and Harris "deny that the propensity for people to believe (i.e. have religious faith) is innate". He quotes the latest books by the trio as evidence of this denial.
     
    That’s odd, because Dawkins’ "The God Delusion" has a whole chapter called The Roots of Religion, with over 40 pages exploring various hypotheses as to why religion may be innate. And while I haven’t read either of the latest books by Harris and Dennett, the latter has certainly explored hypotheses for the causes of religion – see the section: The Diversity of Darwinian Explanations in his book Freedom Evolves, for example.  Methinks David Byrne is the one in denial here.

  • Retired Husband Syndrome

    Interesting piece by a BBC reporter about Retired Husband Syndrome – a condition seen in some Japanese wives. I can well believe that having a retired husband suddenly cluttering up your personal space can be unnerving, and given certain aspects of Japanese society, it can amplify into a syndrome. Thus far, Martin and I have managed to avoid it. Not living in a two-room flat probably helps.

  • Beyond Belief

    There’s been an interesting conference that took place earlier this month: Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival. There’s a number of reports appearing on the web. This one from the New York Times and this one from the New Scientist. Best of all, the videos from the sessions are becoming available. I look forward to watching them through the miracles of the Internet and computers.
     
    While there could have been more believers than atheists at the conference, it appears as though the discussions were, shall we say, spirited, with Richard Dawkins coming in for the usual criticism over his "take no prisoners" approach. Me? I’m with Professor Dawkins. Call a spade a spade, I say.

  • Foxes In Henhouses

     
    Data point two: the Bush administration has appointed a new chief of family-planning programs at the US Department of Health and Human Services who worked at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization that regards the distribution of contraceptives as "demeaning to women."
     
    Great.

  • A Mother’s Story

    When I watch something like this, I find it difficult not to despair. How can such a cycle of violence ever be broken?

  • Happy Birthday

    In an attempt to prove that I can be just as soppy as anyone, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Parker a very happy Fourth Birthday. Seriously, we could do worse than to consider the example of his parents. Unfortunately, still far too many people in this world think that this is wrong, and that Parker and his parents should not be a family.

  • The Rules of the Game

    The Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust has published a report: The Rules of the Game: Terrorism, Community and Human Rights. It looks to be worth reading, and is already attracting attention from mainstream media and bloggers. Not Saussure quotes the following passage from the report:
    Tony Blair talks of ‘rebalancing between the rights of the suspect and the rights of the law-abiding majority’. John Reid declared to the Labour party conference , ‘It cannot be right that the rights of an individual suspected terrorist be placed above the rights, the life and limb of the rest of the British people. It cannot be right – it is wrong, no ifs, no buts, it’s just plain wrong.’ But these are false dichotomies: ‘suspects’ are members of the ‘majority’. They are innocent until proved guilty, their rights and those of the majority hang together. (It is a miserable fact, however, that thanks to its constant use, the word ‘suspect’ is now charged with the presumption of guilt – so much that the Guardian recently wrote of ‘alleged terrorist suspects’.) (p 42) 
    I find it really worrying that British politicians are using rhetoric such as that quoted above. They seem to be intent on making things worse.

  • Mind That Child

    Training Simulators come in all shapes and sizes. Here’s one: the RealCare Baby II-Plus, used to make young people aware of the fact that babies are not fashion accessories or toys, and that parenting is a demanding job. 
     
    It’s very realistic. Sometimes perhaps a little too realistic.

  • Eroding Values

    I see that, not to be outdone by Muslims, Christians are now leaping onto the bandwagon and trumpeting that illiberal atheists are to blame for society’s ills. The latest is the Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu in a speech last Friday. I see that Alun Salt has sent a letter to the Archbishop by way of reply, and this excellent epistle shows up the speech to be the pile of twaddle that it is.  

  • The Terrorist Meme

    Interesting piece by Matthew Parris in The Times today. I find the idea of memes ("viruses of the mind") fascinating. Even if the meme hypothesis turns out to be false, some of the points that Parris makes are very valid. For example, while the vast majority of would-be terrorists are deluded and disaffected males dreaming their fantasies, we would do well to remember that hiding in amongst their number is the real thing. The trick is to be able to identify and isolate them from the false positives.

  • It’s Another World…

    And one where I don’t know whether to laugh at, or cry for, the people involved. On reflection, I find it ineffably sad. Thanks to Jill for the link, I think.

  • Green Fashion

    Over at Worldchanging, Nicole Anne-Boyer has a post on how environmental concerns are becoming fashionable and being packaged to be sold to rich consumers. The post itself is interesting, but she also mentions the FT’s glossy lifestyle magazine How to Spend it – "devoted to the whims of elite consumption and concerns — everything from Prada to philanthropy. I’m charmed and appalled; their ideal reader". Well, I took a look at the magazine – I’m just appalled. Greed masquerading as taste and beauty. I must confess though that I was quite taken with the web application that the publishers are using to display the printed copy of the magazine as a digital version in the web browser. That’s quite good. Pity the content makes me want to vomit.

  • The God Conundrum

    Sean Carroll takes on Terry Eagleton’s review of Dawkins’ The God Delusion, and holes it below the waterline. An excellent article that shows up Eagleton’s hand-waving for the nonsense it it.

  • Say My Name…

    Coboró visits Ypres, and pens a typically powerful piece about both the futility of war, and its insidious way of breeding future conflicts. Read it.

  • The Power Of Divs

    Stewart Lee has a good video exploring the inanity of religion-driven prejudice. What’s wrong with blasphemy? Absolutely nothing, Stewart. But where’s the rest of your polemic? I’d like to see it…
     
    Update: oh, here are the various parts, chopped up to fit on YouTube. Well done, Mr. Lee. what you said was worth saying.

  • I’m Not A Victim

    While this is something that’s playing out in America’s backyard, and hence something that I probably shouldn’t comment on directly… still, I thought this response from Michael J. Fox to the vomit known as Rush Limbaugh was worth noting.

  • Toto…

    …I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore… Thus quoth Dorothy on finding herself in the land of Oz. But, here we are in Kansas, at the University of Kansas, no less, and – unlikely as it may seem – able to watch a video of Richard Dawkins talking about his book: The God Delusion. Wonderful stuff.
     
    Other videos from Kansas University’s Hall Center for the Humanities are here.