Articles written by Craig Hawkins

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About me - Craig Hawkins

I love nothing more than a good science book that strips my mind of irrational dogmas.

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Arts & Humanities > Awareness & Reality Understanding the concept of reality: 1 of 48
Reality exists independent of the mind. The mystic is often heard to say "reality is an illusion". But if it were true that reality was merely a figment within imagination, then by definition we would not be able to concretize that 'reality' through the laws of nature.The fact that the conscious mind sometimes poorly grasps a... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Atheism & Agnosticism Understanding what constitutes atheism: 1 of 34
One of the many erroneous claims made for atheism, is that it is just another religion. Those that make this claim, are usually theists and they are theists with an 'axe to grind'. Writers such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Dan Dennett, Victor J. Stenger, Sam Harris - et al, are shifting the conversation, on the t... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Environmental Awareness The dangers of politicizing the issue of global warming: 1 of 19
To criticise Global Warming is the sin of all sins. I've been called every name under the sun for criticising the science.What is tragic, is that this obsession with Man-made Global Warming is literally killing thousands of people every year. People in the Third World are denied electricity because of the Anthropogenic Global... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ethics Doing wrong for the right reasons is still wrong: 1 of 16
Doing something for the right reasons can never be wrong. If doing something for the right reasons, means doing something that is considered the morally necessitated action.In everyday circumstances, it is considered morally wrong to kill a fellow human being. But this does not therefore mean, killing a fellow human being is ... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Atheism & Agnosticism How religious faith causes problems in society: 2 of 27
What is faith anyway. To hold a position based on faith... Is really saying that one holds a position devoid of evidence. But of course that is the nature of religion. Religion without faith, would be a very odd kind of religion. Indeed, to the religious mystic, it is somehow more noble to hold a position purely on faith, tha... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Thoughts on God Intelligent design, creation, or evolution: Why worry about it: 1 of 12
The 'new' Creationists, have changed the label but it is the same 'act'. Creationism has been clothed in the label of Intelligent Design. In reality there is no difference between Intelligent Design and Creationism. The Intelligent Design movement was started by the Discovery Institute, which was founded by ex-lawyer Phillip ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > International Politics (Other) Should England have granted knighthood to Salman Rushdie, given his troubled reputation in the Muslim world?: 2 of 22
For Salman Rushdie not to be honored would be an appalling sacrifice of freedom of speech to religious pressure and conformity to the status quo. I do not say Salman Rushdie should be honored because I am a particular fan of knighthoods, I am not. I would rather he received an independent award that has no connection to peera... More..
Arts & Humanities > Meaning of Life Finding the meaning of life: 10 of 88
The meaning of life can be summed up in one word: 'happiness'. But to search for happiness within the universe as if it is a real force or entity that can be grasped, this would be a fruitless endeavor. There is no happiness 'out there'. The only happiness is that which we ourselves make, it is an inside job.We make our own h... More..
Arts & Humanities > Awareness & Reality The difference between knowledge and common sense: 5 of 41
We do have specific knowledge about certain aspects of the universe, that seem to fall down when we apply common sense. For example, a common sense observation that the Earth is flat, was believed to be a fact of reality for many centuries, but was found to be false. What often appears to be common sense, when knowledge is ap... More..
Arts & Humanities > Ethics Judgment of others: 4 of 29
We live in politically correct times, where one is not supposed to judge another's character. But, the fact is that there is nothing necessarily, ethically or morally wrong with judging someone else.One can of course judge someone else; based on an irrational believe about their character. This is especially true of individua... More..