Affirming Life

EditorialPaul Kurtz

Eupraxsophy Revisited

There is no word in the English language that adequately conveys the meaning of secular humanism. Secular humanism is not a religion; it represents a philosophical, scientific, and ethical outlook. I have accordingly introduced a new term, eupraxsophy, in order to distinguish humanistic convictions and practices from religious systems of faith and belief.

This term can be used in many languages. It is derived from Greek roots: eu-, praxis, and sophia.

Eu- is a prefix that means “good,” “well,” or “advantageous.” It is found in the Greek word eudaimonia, which means “well-being” or “happiness,” and it is also used in English terms such as eulogy and euphoria.

Praxis (or prassein) refers to “action, doing, or practice.” Eupraxia means “right action” or “good conduct.”

Sophia means “wisdom.” This word appears in philosophy, combining philos (“love&rdquo and sophia (“wisdom&rdquo to mean “love of wisdom.”

This is Paul Kurtz. He created the word "eupraxsophy" which is science + reason +activism. Paul Kurtz is also an ethicist and bases some of his views on existentialism.

If that doesn't make sense, in punk-rock-ese it says, he thinks its good to drink and fuck and to help folks drink and fuck.

The deck shuddered as an impact shook the floor. A siren blared and all lights save the emergency lighting had failed. The man awoke with a start to find himself alone on the floor, surrounded by broken glass and a sticky liquid. Slowly picking himself up, he looked around the small room. In the centre was what seemed to be the remains of a broken glass cylinder connected to pipes and wires. It looked like he might have been in it when it shattered. The perpetrator of the damage appeared to be a large block of deck plating for which there was a corresponding hole in the roof. There was a door on one of the pure white walls and some cabinets and shelving seemed to make up the rest of the room. As he gained his feet, he heard a voice sounding rather desperate and mechanical from above: "All hands abandon ship!" The man realized with a start that he didn’t know where he was, or who he was. Let alone how to get off of the vessel. He took stock of his situation, and wasn’t pleased with his options. No clothes, no equipment, and no idea what was going on.

I have gone back to school. This would be a good portion of the reason I'm still missing in action.

Lovely thing, the school I last went to apparently closed a few years ago, and the system subsequently lost the last couple years of my records. So I had to start back at grade 9, though I'd been in 11.

On the bright side, I skipped through 9 and 10 in a single day, and have gone through about 3/4's of English 11 in the last couple weeks. Once I figure out exactly what I need for grad, it shouldn't take me too long.

Oh, did I mention the school has blocked RRS? So unfortunately I can't even come here when I'm there.

Ah well. Anyway, I'll still pop by whenever I can, and at some point will be back the way I used to be. The bonus is that having graduated will make my arguments that much more effective.

As many of you know I work part time at a bookstore because (a) I don't make enough with RRS to support all my bills and (b) I love books and enjoy selling them to people.  Well, yesterday morning as I was helping somebody in the religion section, a customer asked me for books on illnesses.  I walked her over to the section and pointed out some books of interest to her, and as I was walking away she stated affirmatively that she had managed to get her son to read, and that her job was accomplished for the day even if she didn't find the book she was looking for.  After suggesting that I probably read a lot of fiction because I work in a bookstore, I told her that I spent most of my time reading ancient fiction, being that my full time job was that I was a historian. 

The RRS@MSCD Paranormal Challenge

The Rational Response Squad at Metropolitan State College of Denver is issuing a paranormal challenge similar to James Randi’s famous million dollar challenge, with the exception of a million dollar award.

Are you psychic, telekinetic, or otherwise endowed with a paranormal or supernatural ability?
Have you mastered some untapped potential of human knowledge and understanding such as astrology or tarot cards?

If so, the Rational Response Squad at MSCD is giving you the opportunity to prove it by subjecting your claim to rigorous scientific analysis.

In the interest and pursuit of truth, knowledge, and understanding we are willing to look at such phenomenal claims seriously and critically, and we hope you are too.

The demonstration of a previously unknown, uncharacterized, and unexplained phenomena could shatter the very foundations of science and forever alter our perception and understanding of reality.

If you’re interested in confirming your ability and demonstrating a phenomenon currently unrecognized by science then contact us at [email protected], http://www.
myspace.

com/metroatheists, or

President: Joel
Vice President: Chalmer, 303-916-2318
Representative: Brent

Gah--this is taking so much longer than I thought. I’m going to attempt to keep this brief and only address major points so that I can move on to chapter 3. I already have people bitching that I should just “ignore Vox,” but I have no intentions of doing so. His fan-boys would only claim victory, so plod along with me here. (Pretty please?)

I am honored to be hosting the 89th Carnival of the Godless, but before we begin, I need to tell the readers something.

All of the following people are bad representatives of atheism.

At least in somebody's opinion. Every person here adheres to a particular viewpoint, methodology, or philosophy with which some other atheist disagrees. Every single one of them. Yet, here they are, spewing their ideas all over the internet with impunity. The horror! What kind of arrogance would compel these people to voice their ill-informed opinions as if they speak for all atheists? You know, they're doing more harm than good.

At least, that's what we're told. That's what "they" (cue spooky music) want us to believe. But how much truth lies in those accusations? Are those statements not also an opinion that may offend somebody else, likely the person at whom they are directed? Might not that also be perceived as detrimental to "the cause?"

I hooked up with Alejandro Borgos, director of CFI Argentina because I'm trying to promote atheism in Latin America, and while researching him I found an article by him about how he busted a skeptic faking his evidence.

I thought it was so cool to read about a skeptic busting a skeptic. This is exactly how peer review works in science.

The Enemy Within

Chronology of an Anti-Skepticism Case in Argentina

This is an account of an episode I would have never wished to report. It shows how skeptics are not immune to hoaxing and it emphasizes the importance of preventing future events like this in skeptical organizations.

 

On November 15, 2001, Argentine UFOlogist Francisco Fazio was a guest on the TV show Movete. He presented a World Trade Center video, where a UFO could be seen "filmed" flying near the Twin Towers (supposedly on July 24, 2000) [

].

The video originally aired on the Sci Fi Channel more than a year earlier, as a promotional clip [2].