Book Review: Letters to a Young Contrarian, C. Hitchens. 9/10.

Book Review: Letters to A Young Contrarian, C. Hitchens. 9/10.

"As for the ironic, I shan't attempt a definition here. It's the gin in the Campari, the x-factor, the knight's move on the chessboard, the cat's purr, the knot in the carpet. Its elusive and allusive nature is what makes it impossible to repress or capture. It has a relationship to the unintended consequence. One of its delights is that it can be deployed literally..."

The late Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was a prolific, articulate, literate, and extremely thought provoking author. "Letters to a Young Contrarian" was published on the eve of 9/11(2001) an event which would influence Hitchens' later writings and discussions. This is evident when one examines how he redoubled his efforts in ridiculing faith and promoting anti-theism post 9/11.

"Letters" is not similar to other books i have read - even by Hitchens. The book is a concise collection of short letters, written to a Dear X, or addressed to you the reader. The book highlights the importance of being a dissenter, contrarian or critic in the modern world. The short 100+ page book is somewhat of a manifesto on how historical dissidents, gadfly's and revolutionaries argued their ideology or beliefs, which were often counter to mainstream thought but ultimately were more noble or honest than just sitting quietly while the oppressor reaped the harvest of human freedom and thought.

The skills necessary to be a modern contrarian are taught and the reasons why one should be a contrarian are given. One example is irony, which is highlighted as an essential part of being a contrarian. Ridicule, it is said, is the best weapon of the slave or the oppressed. People from Socrates to Orwell and countless other 'contrarians' are only briefly covered as Hitchens does not want to make arguments from authority - rather he wants the reader to think for oneself. While i do not agree completely with everything Hitchens asserts in this book, it is interesting to note that disagreeing with the author is perhaps a chief reason for reading the book. Hitchens wants to show the reader how to become a contrarian - as opposed to simply gaining your consensus on his well articulated points.

Thanks, Brady Fair. 3fs,org. 

Too Much Faith Leads to Religion: Faith vs Reason.

“Faith is the surrender of the mind, it's the surrender of reason, it's the surrender of the only thing that makes us different from other animals. It's our need to believe and to surrender our skepticism and our reason, our yearning to discard that and put all our trust or faith in someone or something, that is the sinister thing to me. ... Out of all the virtues, all the supposed virtues, faith must be the most overrated” C Hitchens. 

Faith, superstition and irrationality. Will they continue forever? - or is it possible to loosen - or even break, the heavily laden shackles of faith that burden the human condition.

FRUITS OF FAITH

FRUITS OF SCIENCE

An optimist assessing the spread of information via global communications in the 21st century, coupled with an understanding of the astonishing discoveries and advances in the sciences, could claim that faith based epistemology's are in their death throws and will soon be replaced by epistemology's with predictive capabilities.

A more cynical or pessimistic observer could claim that despite the internet and unprecedented access to knowledge, humans are at their very core not rational beings - or at best are part rational and part superstitious. Meaning we will continue to progress in science, unraveling more of natures mysteries, but as a species we will continue to trust in the supernatural, as if the supernatural were a real thing. When we leave the science laboratory for the day we start to think there are ghosts in the dark and gods in the heavens.

A third person, examining the situation, could say that both the pessimist's and the optimist's views are true at the moment. The struggle between fact and fiction is thousands of years old and 'god is still not dead'. The history of faith clashing with science, has led some to believe that both positions are in desperate need of a reconciliation.

 If the two ways of knowing are not compatible, which the optimist would suggest is in fact the case, while the pessimist might think some form of reconciliation between faith and science will allow both to co-exist. If the pessimist could not reconcile the two they may say that faith and science deal with different phenomena. Faith and science are non-overlapping magisteria, as S.J Gould suggested. The optimist may say this is not the case, faith based claims can often be approached scientifically as the extreme claims made by the faithful directly trespass on one or more fields of science, or could be formulated as a hypothesis - or they are unfalsifiable in principle and arguably not science. The pessimist might disagree instead suggesting that faith applies to meta-physics and spirituality while science deals only with the natural world.

 Deism does not overlap with science, the third person adds, as it is vague and unfalsifiable. However theism certainly overlaps with the natural world; as it claims Deities or God(s) have or are still interfering with human affairs on Earth. These theistic divine "interventions" are a part of the natural world (this presupposes the claims are true, an unsafe assumption to say the least) - and therefore these claims are fair game for naturalistic or scientific investigation and possible refutation.

The pessimist concedes Yahweh and Allah may eventually go the way of Zeus and Ra - into the mythological and superstitious compendium in the library. Yet humans will largely remain the same; credulous, gullible and superstitious. They may invent other gods to replace the ones no longer in vogue or gravitate toward the overflowing sink of other unproven supernatural, fantastical or miraculous pseudo-scientific claims. The optimist disagrees and argues that the zeitgeist is changing, religious and credulous people for the most part are now faced with accepting the scientific truth or denying reality. Reality, as we know, does not go away just because you stop believing in it. The third person jumps in and ends with what he sees as happening.

If he can do it you can this, what can you achieve? 

We are prone to believing what we want to be true, regardless of whether the evidence is actually in favour of the proposition. Our species only recently acquired the priceless skills of evaluating evidence, applying critical thinking, using reason and logic, adopting skeptical inquiry and employing the scientific methodology. Our future is unknown, but if our whole species cannot make use of these invaluable tools - and accept their findings - then we are stuck with astrology, religion, ghosts, UFO's and all the other results a non-predictive epistemology brings - and we are stuck indefinitely. On the other hand if enough people are educated on the aforementioned skills then faith is not impenetrable to critical thinking and skepticism. Faith could literally be replaced by reason and evidence. It seems our species has both a knack for gathering empirical knowledge and a serious handicap in using faith as an epistemology. Only one methodology has predictive powers and can take us to the moon. The other epistemology makes enormous claims about the same universe but will never take people to the moon. Make sure your "way of knowing" has predictive capabilities.

"Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge." C. Sagan

Thanks, Brady Fair - http//:3fs.org

Islam: The Faith to End All Faith...

"Judaism has the ugly tendency of leading to Christianity and Islam". 

Islam is the second most popular religion in the world, after Christianity, there are 1.5 billion adherents to the faith. Most Muslim's are not Arabs, as the prophet Mohammad was. The countries with the most Muslims are Indonesia, Pakistan and the Indian subcontinent. Islam covers North Africa, through the Middle East and onto Pakistan and South-East Asia. Recently there have been jihadist style wars in Mali, Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan and India - to name a few. Most of the Gulf states are under theocratic dictatorships, with Iran being an actual theocracy other places have Sharia or Islamic law.

Islam is based around the Qur'an and the prophet Mohammed. Many Muslims believe that the Hadith, which focuses on the teachings and sayings of the Prophet is essential to understanding the Qur'an. Both books were not written by Mohammed, as he was illiterate, so these works were compiled after his death from various manuscripts and rote memorization's of Mohammed's 7th century "recitations".

Islam claims to be the final revelation from God or Allah (Joseph Smith disagrees) and that the previous revelations and prophets of the Old and New Testaments have become imperfect over time and so have been superseded by the perfected Qur'an. The Bible is still important to Islamic theology and can be thought of as Part I and Part II of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic trilogy (similar to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but based partly on fact, as Mohammed was a real person).

Don't Forget to Recycle Your Garbage

Growing the Qur'an from the roots of the Judeo-Christian tradition means that if the latter traditions turn out to be false then the Qur'an also risks becoming less credible as a result. As in the Bible, the angel Gabriel is the medium between God and humanity in the Qur'an. Gabriel relayed Allah's commands to the merchant Mohammad in the 7th century AD in Arabia. After the initial recitation Mohammed experienced many more and it is these divinely revealed truths which were memorized and recited by Mohammad's followers. These messages, after much fighting and bloodshed would go on to become the Qur'an.

During Mohammed's conquests and for a significant time after his death, many of the people who had memorized the various Suras of the Qur'an continued to die in battles at an alarming rate - taking their knowledge of the Qur'an with them to heaven and jeopardizing Allah's whole en-devour to allegedly contact humanity, once more, via an illiterate superstitious prophet in the deserts of the middle-east (believe at your own discretion)... This led to an emergency council where the remaining texts and those who had memorized the various Suras had gathered to formalize a new Holy book. This is where the first Qur'an was cobbled together and we are expected to believe no mistakes were made during the human process of compiling a new book. The Hadith was written later and is a victim of the same problem that all oral traditions suffer from, namely the "Chinese whisper" effect.

Islam is just another branch of the Judeo-Christian God, another schismatic sect, another group of peasant illiterates claiming they are part of God's revealed plan. Maybe they are. It all seems so human in it's fallibility though. Furthermore there are schisms inside the faith itself. Most Muslims are Sunni and most of the rest are Shia. So all Muslims are now in the unfortunate position of being susceptible to the charge of being the 'wrong' kind of Muslim. The schism between Sunni and Shia Islam occurred after the death of the Prophet and has not been resolved since. In-fact Sunni's and Shia's have been destroying each other's mosques and killing their fellow Muslims ever since the division occurred - modern confrontations often employ martyrs and suicide attacks in fighting. Tragically this barbarism and sadism shows no signs of stopping, such is the power of faith.

Finally and most importantly, one should notice that Islam makes literally the most grandiose claims in the Qur'an about the nature of the entire universe and our role within it, but curiously has an inverse relationship with the evidence it can produce to support it's extreme assertions. This is a similar theme in all religions, but modern Islam in particular does not take kindly to having it's wild claims skeptically examined or scrutinized. Furthermore the threat of violence that often results from these innocent inquiries is believable. The faith to end all faith?

"I cannot disprove that the Qur'an is the perfect word of God, but I hope He was at-least having a bad day when it happened". C.H.

"Once a Year it is Happy Fathers Day to Yahweh and Mohammed- Not to Allah, he is still a Virgin. source: Holy Bible, Qur'an and Hadith. (Jesus was unavailable for comment, as usual)" 

Thanks, Brady Fair. 3fs.org    

On Regulating Heroin.

Most unbiased students of drug policy would agree that cannabis should not be prohibited or made illegal. The evidence seems to indicate that making this drug illegal actually increases harm, rather than reduce it. What is a sensible drug policy for Diacetylmorphine or Heroin though?

Heroin has run into stigma, misunderstanding and trouble ever since it was invented in the late 19th century. Over the last 100 years we have learned a great deal about this drug and our societies seem unsure of how to effectively control it and reduce the harms caused by it. The usual response from conservatives and liberals and governments is to introduce a blanket prohibition on the substance. A century ago Heroin moved from legal, to presciption to illegal in virtually all the world, becoming globally illegal with international drug conventions in the 60's and 70's. Needless to say prohibition does not work in practice.

In the 21st century a few nations have been trying some new methods of regulating Heroin and the results are interesting.

I will break the problem down into two, more manageable issues. Firstly is the question of whether Heroin should be used as a prescition analgesic or a pain releiver (which I will address in part one). The second is what to do with people who are addicted too or dependant on illegal Heroin (which will be addressed in part 2).

Heroin as a pain releiver.
Why is Heroin such an effective pain releiver? It is almost entirely due to it's chemical structure and mechanism of action in the brain. Heroin is literally a morphine molecule with two acetyl molecules attached to it. Heroin is also a 'pro-drug', meaning it is metabolized into morphine and monoactylmorphine before it is psychoactive - basically heroin works and feels similiar to morphine because it is morphine.

Then why does heroin produce a more effective pain releif than morphine? The answer is largely due to Heroin's ability to cross the blood brain barrier.  Remember those acetyl molecules; well, they make the morphine molecule substantially more fat soluable. This is important pharmacologically as the brain is seperated from the bloodstram by the blood brain barrier. The blood brain barrier is a kind-of fatty membrane, protecting the brain from harm while allowing oxygen, glucose along with other essential compounds into the brain, this membrane also has the characteristic of allowing lipid soluable drugs to pass. Morphine has a very difficult time crossing this barrier and therefore is not as effective at stimulating the brains endorphins. Stimulation of the brains endorphins in turn produces much of the analgesic and relaxing effects of the drug. Heroin on the other hand is much more efficient at crossing the blood brain barrier thereby entering the brain. Think of Heroin as a really good way of getting morphine into the brains neuro-chemical network.

What is the current status of Heroin as a pain releiver? In most of the world it is illegal to use for any reason, including medical reasons. This implies that you or a loved one could be diagnosed with a terminal, unbearably painful illness and you are not allowed to use, arguably, the worlds most effective pain releiver. This seems a failure of compassion if it is anything. It is also a failure of logic and a gross misunderstanding of the drug's effects. For instance, one main risk associated with using Heroin as a presciption medication is addiction to the drug. This is a negligible risk if the person is terminally ill, or in chronic pain because it is likely they are already being presibed a less effective opiate analgesic for the pain, which carries the risk of addiction anyway. Also if they are going to die soon it is borderline psychotic not to allow them effetive pain releif.

What about treatment for non-terminal illness, won't this cause serious problems? That depends on what you mean by serious. Morphine is a remarkably non-toxic drug, like cannabis is - It is less toxic than alcohol for example. Morphine or Heroin can be used for years, even decades and the user is not at risk of the drug causing cancers, serious brain damage or permanent disability. The main risks and harms from prescription heroin are indirect, which means they can be avoided or reduced with education and treatment, or are caused by addiction to the drug - which can be minimized if the drug is taken regularly and at a steady dosage. One issue that cannot be avoided is dependancy to Heroin. Heroin like all opiates causes withdrawal symptoms if it is not taken regularly and at a constant dose. Most of the harms caused by Heroin today are actually caused by the illegailty of the drug. Cheap prescription Heroin could in principle circumvent most of the criminal, overdose, viral, social, economic, and health issues caused by expensive, impure illegal Heroin.

Where is Heroin legal for medical reasons and why is it still illegal? The UK and several European countries use Heroin as a prescription medication for illness, usually as a replacement for morphine or less effective pain releivers. The main hurdles to prescrition Heroin for pain are public stigma and a general misunderstanding of the empirical evidence (for example people attach human attributes to Heroin, describing a molecule as evil - a non-sentence to me, or think it is dangerous necessarily, again an unfounded statement not driven by the facts). Also the US schedules the drug in the most resticted category (Schdule 1), this coupled with the observation that other nations "copy" the US in drug policy and the "war on drugs" means it will be some time before evidence and reason win out.

Thanks :)

COSMOS REVIEW! prelude.

"The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together."
"We are a way for to cosmos to know itself"

Carl Sagan was a person who began a legacy and inspired many individuals. After becoming a professor in Astrophysics and a prolific author, he went on to write and narrate the award winning book and television series "Cosmos, a Personal Voyage". By taking the Cosmos 'down' to Earth and showing the rich and subtle complexities of which it is all comprised, including us humans, it was a personal voyage for many of us - almost like a profound wake up call.

Carl Sagan was a man who was pointing out the prescient issues that haunt, plague and still, after all these decades endanger not only our species as a whole - but our entire, pale blue dot. Shall we finally take the Cosmic perspective seriously? Or, will we follow all those countless species who lived before and fell into extinction...Yet there is always hope, if we are serious and ready to steer our planetary home in the right direction.

Carl Sagan showed the Earth as it is, not as we would like it to be. It is amazing that stars did actually die so we could exist. It is remarkable that we are here as a product of evolution. Sagan was correct when he encouraged critical thinking and evidence over credulity and faith. He enlightened us to our current predicament and illuminated why we should take action to avoid potential future catastophes. We are pattern seeking mammals. We have inherited dangerous evolutionary tendencies, xenophobia, credulity, arrogance and exigency - but we also evolved an intelligence, capacity and potential that sets us apart from all the other species.

"Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another"




.

The Termite Colony of Hutterites?

The termite colony of the Hutterites?

Hutterites are relatively small communities of people found predominantly in Canada and the US.  In total, there are around 40 000 Hutterites dispersed through 400 colonies. They are generally very nice people (as most people are) and they live in a community that is literally communal in its outlook. So far, so good?; It does get worse.

The system of belief that the Hutterites follow is founded on a faulty premise, according to most of the world, which includes former Hutterites who have left the colony (and according to me ;). Hutterites are similar to the Amish in some ways, and they cite holy scripture to support their beliefs. The reason they live in isolated 'communes' is because they believe this lifestyle is required by their interpretation of the Bible. The colonies are "held" together by a self perpetuating cycle of childhood indoctrination and a lack of education about the outside world.

There is no real individuality, the same behaviours are repeated day in, day out, work 6 days a week for food and shelter, there is no money paid for the work they do. The colony maintains this way of life through the indoctrination of children. The children and adults hold the belief that the ultimate goal is to go to heaven and that this goal is attainable through living as a Hutterite. So living in a communal, monochrome, banal and pious way one can enter the kingdom of heaven. Leaving the colony is hard, due to fear of going to hell and losing all ones family and friends. Theocratic communism?

Thanks, Brady :)

Is Religion Child Abuse?

Is Religion Child Abuse? 

Yes, and No. Why, well because;
 My response could be misunderstood, as the question is itself, a "loaded" question. Therefore, we should all agree, to start us off, that there is no equivocation between repeated extreme child abuse and, for example, letting your child believe in an invisible dragon. I hope you can guess just how far one could take the invisible dragon metaphor.

However the fact remains that believing in imaginary dragons can cause potential harm, (or perhaps even real harm). Now, we can further imagine the harm that a belief in one or more omnipotent Deities might potentially cause or actually cause. In fact the list of atrocities and abuses committed against human's, directly by other human's, in 'the name of religion' (which includes the horror caused as a result of a belief in a Deity) is almost endless - So I will have to be summary, even terse, in my conclusion. Teaching children fables as fact is potentially harmful, as is repeatedly lying to children. So, Religion is child "abuse".

"A fire-breathing dragon lives in my garage"Suppose (I'm following a group therapy approach by the psychologist Richard Franklin) I seriously make such an assertion to you.  Surely you'd want to check it out, see for yourself.  There have been innumerable stories of dragons over the centuries, but no real evidence. What an opportunity!
"Show me," you say.  I lead you to my garage.  You look inside and see a ladder, empty paint cans, an old tricycle -- but no dragon.
"Where's the dragon?" you ask.
"Oh, she's right here," I reply, waving vaguely.  "I neglected to mention that she's an invisible dragon."
You propose spreading flour on the floor of the garage to capture the dragon's footprints.
"Good idea," I say, "but this dragon floats in the air."
Then you'll use an infrared sensor to detect the invisible fire.
"Good idea, but the invisible fire is also heatless."
You'll spray-paint the dragon and make her visible.
"Good idea, but she's an incorporeal dragon and the paint won't stick."  And so on.  I counter every physical test you propose with a special explanation of why it won't work.
Now, what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all?"
- Carl Sagan (Demon Haunted World)

Thanks, Brady :)