Michael Shermer

thumb|Michael Shermer in 2007 Michael Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, and founder of The Skeptics Society (also its executive director), and editor of its magazine Skeptic. Quotes So, of course, [Duane] Gish's presentation was well received, which it would have been the case had he only gotten up and said "praise the Lord" and sat back down. Describing "Young-Earth" Creationist Duane T Gish's last debate of his career (which was against Shermer), in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 3, 2001, quoted from E-Skeptic for June 3, 2001 My thesis is that morality exists outside the human mind in the sense of being not just a trait of individual humans, but a human trait; that is, a human universal. Shermer The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Share, Gossip, and Follow the Golden Rule 1st edition 2004 Times Books New York 0805075208 18 [N]o such individual would find the Golden Rule surprising in any way because at its base lies the foundation of most human interactions and exchanges and it can be found in countless texts throughout recorded history and from around the world--a testimony to its universality. Speaking of one who has never heard of the Golden Rule, as mentioned in John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding Shermer Science of Good and Evil 2004 25 We're all talking about the same thing, whether it's religious people or New Age spiritual people or Buddhists or scientists. We're all talking about having a sense of awe and wonder at something grander than ourselves. quoted in Berger Kevin August 23, 2006 http://www.salon.com/books/int/2006/08/23/shermer/print.html "The joys of life without God" Salon.com 2006-08-26 Within a decade, maybe two or three, Christians will come around to treating gays no differently than they now treat other groups whom they previously persecuted — women, Jews, blacks — but not because of some new interpretation of a biblical passage, or because of a new revelation from God. These changes will come about the same way that they always do: by the oppressed minority fighting for the right to be treated equally, and by a few enlightened members of the oppressing majority supporting their cause.Then what will happen is that Christians will take credit for the civil liberation of gays, dig through the historical record and find a few Christian bloggers or preachers who had the courage and the character to stand up for Gay rights when their fellow Christians would not, and then cite those as evidence that were it not for Christianity gays would not be equal. Shermer (2007), Is Christianity Good for the World? Absolute morality leads logically to absolute intolerance. Once you believe that you have the absolute and final answers to moral questions, why be tolerant of those who refuse to accept your Truth? Religiously based moral systems apply this principle in spades. Shermer (2007), Is Christianity Good for the World? The recent medical controversy over whether vaccinations cause autism reveals a habit of human cognition—thinking anecdotally comes naturally, whereas thinking scientifically does not. Shermer Michael July, 2008 http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-anecdotal-evidence-can-undermine-scientific-results How Anecdotal Evidence Can Undermine Scientific Results Scientific American 2008-07-24 We now know the Universe is 13.8 billion years old, and humans are about roughly 100,000 years old, Christianity began about 2,000 years ago; what was God doing that 99.99% of all that time?! Shermer to Frank Turek, Debate: What Best Explains Reality: Theism or Atheism? (Frank Turek vs. Michael Shermer) (2018) starting at 1:10:53 External links Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Academics from the United States Category:Essayists from the United States Category:Biographers from the United States Category:Skeptics Category:Atheists from the United States Category:Atheism activists Category:Activists from the United States Category:Humanists Category:Critics of religion Category:Science authors from the United States Category:People from Los Angeles Category:Libertarian conservatives Category:Editors from the United States Category:Publishers from the United States Category:Historians of science Category:Historians from the United States