Rationality

Analytic Thinking Erodes Religious Belief

Rob Brooks | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Religion, Atheist, Atheism, Agnostic, Rationality, Science, Evolution, Stephen Jay Gould, Faith, Religion and Science, Religion News

Although there is considerable disagreement about whether education kills religious faith, people's chances of identifying as religious believers declines with scientific education and education in rational thinking.

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How Much Do We Value Our Values?

Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman | Posted 04.23.2012

Read More: Gregory Berns, Joel Hoffman, Jonathan Haidt, Emotion, Benefits, Costs, Rationality, Values, Ten Commandments, Mind, Religion News

And perhaps the greatest impact religion has had on the world is that it helps us move the discussion of values from "costs and benefits" to "right and wrong."

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Car Buyers Seem to Be Rational to a Fault

Gernot Wagner | Posted 01.03.2012

Read More: Daniel Kahneman, Rationality, Behavioral Economics, Business News

Here's the classic economic view of your car-purchasing behavior: You walk into a dealership, choose a car based on brand, color, cylinders, looks and general feel and then start comparing prices among different options.

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Stop Making Sense: Obama's Useless Appeals to Reason

Mark Olmsted | Posted 09.11.2011

Read More: . Compromise, Tea Party, F.D.R., Dadt, Reason, Rationality, Alcoholism, Bill Wilson, Jimmy Carter, Addiction, Obama, Congress, Midterms, Republican Party, Spirituality, Politics News

Anyone who has suffered from addiction or is close to someone who has knows how immune to reason the disease is.

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How To Make A Strong Atheist

Matt J. Rossano | Posted 08.07.2011

Read More: Group Solidarity, Atheism, Religious Belief, Rationality, Secularization, Religion and Science, Religion in the West, Religion in America, Jonathan Lanman, Rational Religion, Religious Fear, Irrational Atheism, Religion News

Throughout most of our history, mortal concerns were ever-present. While the good life breeds atheists, the good life and a little fear breed strong atheists.

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Rationality And Irrationality In Believers And Atheists

Deepak Chopra | Posted 06.04.2011

Read More: Insecurity, Religion, Atheism, Irrationality, Rationality, New Atheists, Christopher Hitchens, Religion Science, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Science and Religion, Religion and Science, Religion News

Science has much to say about spirituality, and vice versa. They aren't enemies or natural opposites.

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Porter's The Price of Everything Pays Off

Art Brodsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Borders Books, Eduardo-Porter-Price-of-Everything, Trent Reznor, Arthur Sullivan, Radiohead, Markets, Discounts, Copyright, Borders Books Bankruptcy, Apple Store, Rationality, Economists, New York Times, Eduardo Porter, Amazon, Books News

In Porter's book, everything has a price -- even free. Can a value be put on a life? That's not a philosophical question. Of course it can, and it is, and there are several variations on the theme.

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Are Rational Religious People All That Rare?

Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Science Religion, Religion, Caveman Logic, Atheism, Religion Science, Rationality, Theology, Santa Claus, God, Religious Tolerance, Spirituality, Hank Davis, Religion News

To me, our goal shouldn't be getting rid of religion -- it should be about moving beyond the "Santa Claus" view of God to create a more sophisticated theology.

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Reasoning, Scepticism and the Burden of Proof

Hisham Wyne | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Occam's Razor, Burden of Proof, Skepticism, Faith, Hypothesis, Rationality, World News

In a corner of the multi-verse, natives of a world ardently believe a unicorn driving a black Camaro is responsible for pulling the sun around the sky...

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Why Macroeconomists -- and Some Politicians -- Should Watch Sports

David Berri | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Sports, Macroeconomics, Rationality, Sports News

Some macroeconomists insist that decision-makers are perfectly rational. This suggests that these people are simply not sports fans. So if you meet one of these macroeconomists, please take them to a game.

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Stumbling on Wins: Using Sports to Paint a Bigger Picture

David Berri | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Stumbling on Wins, Basketball, Irrationality, Rationality, Sports News

The study of decision-making in sports helps us understand human decision-making. So the next time you debate who is better on the field of play, remember, this debate tells us something about how human beings see and understand the world.

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Why Are Some People Atheists?

New Scientist | Lois Lee and Stephen Bullivant | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Atheist, Atheism, Science, New Scientist, Religion, Education, Intelligence, Agnostic, Reason, Rationality, Oxford University, Atheists, Faith, Richard Dawkins, Agnosticism, Religion News

If religion comes so naturally to us, why are so many people, especially in western Europe, apparently resistant to it? New Scientist calls for scient...

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Saving Christmas From the Economists

Neil K. Shenai | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Economists, Christmas Shopping, Rationality, Christmas, Canada, Business News

There is no reason to believe that Christmas is any less worthwhile on an economic basis than a religious, familial, or societal one.

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Gay Rights and the Natural Law Farce

Nathaniel Frank | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Declaration of Independence, Freud, Robert George, Princeton University, Natural Law, National Organization for Marriage, New York Times Magazine, Rationality, Palm Center, Thomas Jefferson, Morality, Manhattan Declaration, James Madison Program, Gay Marriage, Politics News

Yes Robert George, reason plays a role in deciding natural rights. But if we're going to use reason, let's use real reason, and not lean on our ivy-league credentials to pass off homophobia as genuine rationality.

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Will Spirituality Ever Be Serious?

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

All too often, however, spirituality reinforces rather than transcends conventional limits, boundaries, and notions of the ego. Sandwiched in between manicures and lunch dates, the quickie yoga class becomes just another way to augment and reinforce the self.

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