I think this wording from the Skeptics Dictionary is key" "Thus, naturalism neither denies nor affirms the existence of God, either as transcendent or...
"The difference between naturalistic and supernaturalistic views in Western philosophy might best be understood by noting that the former favors mechanistic...
Will, It's so nice to see some action in this group!! Thanks for posting. I"d like to respond to a couple of your points. If you cruise back among the...
Philosophical discourses, while making interesting reading, are generally confusing to me. Only practical applications of a philosophy, or, for that matter,...
"Robots are teleological agents designed by an outside intelligence." You hit the nail right on the head! The two primary objections to naturalism, 1....
Sonny, yep, CFN's focus is definitely on that place where the rubber meets the road, and philosophical debates are pretty unnecessary once the central idea is...
"Think not disdainfully of death, but look on it with favor; for even death is one of the things that Nature wills." Marcus Aurelius Reminds me of Taoism. ...
Bob, Good, that's what I thought. Has anyone started a "catalogue" of possible sociopolitical initiatives? Seems to me that getting ideas from a wide...
I hope everyone has heard about this exciting news in the genetics world. There are some interesting insights into inherited behavior; not proofs, but more...
I have a burning desire to get to the bottom of CFN's antagonism toward... all conservatives (I detest the religious right also). The last time I broached the...
Sonny, How would you define conservative? ... toward... all conservatives (I detest the religious right also). The last time I broached the subject, Tom...
Will, Allow me to answer your question with a brief preface. The Humanist's March/April 2004 issue contained an article, "Can a Humanist Be a Political...
Sonny, If your definition of conservative includes access to capital, health care, education, shelter and food, then I have two questions. 1) How do we provide...
Mary Ellen, Thanks for your... three excellent questions. I trust it's OK to answer all 3, and maybe even answer others that are implied. I'll begin with...
Dear Fellow cfnfellowship Members, It is good to see more postings on the list. I do need to emphatically remind everybody that the purpose of this list is...
Bob, Thanks for this reminder. In pursuing how, or rather if, the conservative and capitalist ideologies fit within naturalism, I did not intend to abuse the...
I think that one of the primary goals of fellowship is bonding between the participants. Bonding occurs as a result of shared experience and it really doesn't...
Sonny- I founded and continue to serve as organizer for the Richmond group which is temporarily titled Richmond Brights/Naturalists (to be renamed soon). I...
Sonny, Any of us may disagree with the opinions of any others on a number of points, but I absolutely can't imagine that Tom would ever say that one cannot be...
Bob, The reason I asked Sonny the questions is because I wanted to see if he would 'justify blaming disadvantaged people for their plight, or any policy that...
Bob, I feel compelled to give a quick answer. I did not mean to imply that Tom has said one cannot be a naturalist and be a conservative or capitalist. A...
It's an interesting and important question about what the basis might be for a specifically naturalist fellowship, as distinct from other sorts of secular...
The dilemma regarding inclusiveness is that a big part of what we have to offer follows from our rejection of contra-causal free will. Lots of vital, positive...
I want to apologize for the terse nature of my post, and especially for not making it clear that I myself have often strayed from the mission as a perusal of...
I just read Tom, Ken and Bob's most recent posts. First, I'd like to offer my validation (are clinical psychologists still using that word, Bob? :) ) of Bob's...
Will, Many thanks for your suggestions re practical elements of functioning fellowship groups. Traditional churches offer some models of how these fellowships...
... have to ... vital, ... them, ... I want to restate that: without it (NFW) we wouldn't be as special, but we would still have something significant to...
Hello all. This past Thursday, the Richmond group which tentatively had been calling itself Richmond Brights/Naturalists voted in a new name and an identity...
Bryan, Good choice of name, and your documents nicely express the rationale for the name and the group's membership. Wondering if at some point you could redo...
