This presentation demonstrates the pervasiveness of the apocalyptic worldview in contemporary popular narratives and political discourse. The psychological underpinnings of apocalyptic thinking are examined drawing on the work of literary theorist Kenneth Burke. The presentation ends by examining the political implications of adopting an apocalyptic worldview.
This presentation provides contemporary historical background on Atheism as a social movement. A brief synopsis of the life of Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her American Atheists organization, representing “Old Atheism,” is followed by an overview of the New Atheist movement, from the publication of Sam Harris’ The End of Faith to present.
This presentation introduces the rhetorical/cultural approach to studying Atheism. Two rationales for the course are provided: (1) Aligns with the critical thinking and truth seeking mission of the University; and (2) Provides students with an opportunity for personal understanding and clarifying values. A way of discreetly disclosing the identity of the Instructor as an Atheist, Tea Pot Agnostic, Freethinker, and Humanist is given. The presentation concludes by providing an overview of the course organization and a preview of topics.
This presentation examines four interrelated topics: (1) The Secularization Thesis; (2) Religious decline in the United Kingdom; (3) The American anomaly (why the United States is anomalously religious compared to other western countries); and (4) Religious decline in the US.
This presentation begins by correlating high levels of religious belief with high levels of scientific illiteracy in the United States. Based largely on J. Anderson Thomson’s book, Why We Believe in Gods, this presentation looks at the ways in which religious belief piggybacks on cognitive functions evolved for satisfying other purposes (social cognition) using examples from Thomson’s book.
This presentation begins by addressing mainstream misperceptions and fears regarding Evolution. Eugenie C. Scott’s “Three Pillars” of criticism leveled at the scientific theory of evolution are discussed. The landmark Dover ruling is examined before we experience more adventures with the Texas School Board. The presentation concludes with a brief film on the 1925 Scopes Trial from the PBS documentary God in America.
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
12:23 pm
Submitted by: Peter Boghossian
This course was taught at Portland State University.
Excerpt from Syllabus
The fundamental learning objectives of this course are threefold: 1) to empower students to be trustful of reason and to give them hope that they can make better communities and live better lives, 2) to demonstrate that there are better and worse ways of reasoning morally, and that the process one uses to make moral decisions can either contribute to, or alleviate, real life suffering and misery, 3) to teach student not to withhold moral judgment, but how to make better, more discerning moral judgments.
This class has the potential to disabuse students of ideologies and specious reasoning processes that bring students’ beliefs out of lawful alignment with reality. Specifically, it is meant to be both an antidote and a prophylactic to pedagogical constructivism, cultural relativism, radical epistemological subjectivism and faith-based belief systems. As such, this course should be viewed more as a moral and cognitive intervention than as a cannon of information that needs to be disseminated, assimilated and then assessed.
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
12:21 pm
Submitted by: Thomas Holtz & John Merck
This course was taught at the University of Maryland during the fall 2011 semester.
Excerpt from Syllabus
What is Science, and how is it distinguished from other aspects of human thought? Physicist Richard Feynman famously said “Science is what we do to keep from lying to ourselves”: words that get to the heart of the scientific enterprise. In an age when the activities of human society and technology can greatly affect Earth’s systems for decades, centuries, and even millennia to come, we must be able to evaluate the merits of ideas as they relate to the actual natural world, independent of our personal, political, or philosophical preconceptions. In this semester, students will learn the basic intellectual “tool kit” of the scientific enterprise. They will discuss how Science differs from other fields of human endeavor, with a particular emphasis on distinguishing scientific ideas from pseudoscientific thinking. Students will also discuss the influence of our understanding (and often misunderstanding) of Science upon contemporary society. In this course we examine real cases of Science gone bad, and the effect (good and bad) of popular portrayals of Science and scientists has on the public. We begin exploring the details of the origin, use, and effects of the energy resources which we use to run our world.
Learning Goals
By the end of the semester, every student should be able to:
Accurately employ understanding of logical fallacies and critical thinking skills in evaluating truth claims.
Effectively distinguish between scientific and non-scientific approaches to the understanding of the natural world.
Identify the major energy resources used in modern society.
Write webpages using html code, upload them to a University server, and maintain their personal website.
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
12:15 pm
Submitted by: Peter Boghossian
This course was taught at Portland State University.
Excerpt from Syllabus
This course is a systematic examination and analysis of atheism. It is primarily focused upon understanding contemporary secular arguments regarding religion and faith-based belief systems. It is secondarily focused upon exploring what secularism means for metaphysics, epistemology, morality, politics, aesthetics, etc.
Learning Goals
After successfully completing this course students should be able to:
Use critical thinking skills to analyze arguments for God’s existence
Examine and evaluate counterarguments
Understand secular responses to faith-based morality, epistemology and metaphysics
Investigate the role evidence ought to play in belief formation
Examine basic logical fallacies and their application
Explore writings and lectures of contemporary atheist thinkers
Research 1) A specific argument for God’s existence, and 2) The counter to that argument
Evaluate, Present and Defend findings to the class
Address questions of textual exegesis and interpretation and their relevance to religious doctrine and belief
Explore the controversy surrounding “the new atheists”
Engage debates from leading religious and secular thinkers regarding God’s existence
Explore different faith traditions by visiting local religious services and then sharing your experiences with classmates
Examine Christian epistemology and warrant through writings of Christian thinkers
Reflect on learning experience and articulate those experiences to peers
Develop teamwork skills by working with fellow classmates to analyze complicated epistemological problems
Engage controversial ideas and attempt to come to a consensus
Empower themselves with the tools to navigate questions about faith, God and the meaning of life
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
12:13 pm
Submitted by: Martin Bridgstock
This course was taught at Griffith University during the spring 2011 semester.
Excerpt from Syllabus
Paranormal beliefs are important, widespread and yet rarely studied. The analysis of those beliefs is both valuable in itself and useful in developing critical and analytical skills. Since both skepticism and the paranormal are defined in relation to science, and are often strongly influenced by science, some elucidation of the nature of science and of its position in society is required. Modern skepticism the science-inspired study of paranormal claims relates both to science and to the paranormal, and seeks to influence media coverage of these issues.
The course aims to elucidate the nature of the three terms in the title and, through the lectures and the seminars, to enable the students to evaluate paranormal claims in skeptical terms. Both the seminars and the take-home exam encourage students to apply skeptical concepts to the paranormal, and to arrive at their own conclusions. The multiple choice examination encourages broad comprehension of key concepts.
Learning Goals
After successfully completing this course students should be able to:
Understand the nature of skepticism, science and the paranormal and their places in western societies, as shown in an ability to outline their key attributes.
Understand the intellectual tools of modern skepticism, their ethical dimensions and their applicability to paranormal claims, as shown by an ability to outline these and instance their application to specific cases.
Have the ability to apply skeptical criteria to selected paranormal and related claims.
Have the capacity to present the results of analysis in well-structured and logical form.
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
12:11 pm
Submitted by: Travis Knowles
This course was taught at Francis Marion University during the fall 2010 semester.
Excerpt from Syllabus
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the methods of science, and especially its foundational philosophy of scientific skepticism. Students will learn the techniques for detecting pseudoscience; to examine pseudoscientific claims with skeptical thought; and to explore the limits and biases of personal experience. As a class, we discuss the value of a skeptical approach to human experience in general. The class is designed to be reading- and discussion-based. There will be weekly assignments from the texts, web pages, blogs, podcasts, and/or in-class videos.
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
12:09 pm
Submitted by: Peter Boghossian
This course was taught at Portland State University.
Excerpt from Syllabus
“What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is the exact opposite.” —Bertrand Russell
“That which can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof.” —Christopher Hitchens
“Feeling better is not actually being better. Heroin also makes people feel better, but I wouldn’t recommend using heroin.” —James Randi
This course examines basic issues in philosophy of science through an analysis of creation “science,” faith healing, UFO abduction stories, and other pseudoscience. Some of the questions addressed: What distinguishes science from pseudoscience? Why does evidence matter? Must we invoke the supernatural to explain certain aspects of reality?
Learning Goals
By the end of this course, students should have:
Developed a healthy skepticism.
Formulated beliefs on the basis of reason and evidence.
Improved their critical thinking skills.
Designed experiments to test (pseudoscientific) claims.
Developed tools to discern reality from “makebelieveland”.
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
12:06 pm
Submitted by: Peter Boghossian
This course was taught at Portland State University.
Excerpt from Syllabus
“As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” —Donald Rumsfeld, Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing
“I am one of those who are very willing to be refuted if I say anything which is not true, and very willing to refute anyone else who says what is not true, and quite as ready to be refuted as to refute—for I hold that this is the greater gain of the two…” —Socrates in the Gorgias
This class is designed to improve reasoning and critical thinking skills. The focus is on practical/applied methods of reasoning. Students will learn to use tools to think clearly and critically about a wide range of questions and issues.
Learning Goals
By the end of this course, students should have:
Developed a healthy skepticism.
Improved their critical thinking skills.
Formulated beliefs on the basis of reason and evidence.
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
12:04 pm
Submitted by: Stephen Sekula, John Cotton, and Randall Scalise
This course was taught at Southern Methodist University.
Excerpt from Syllabus
This course will provide students with an understanding of the scientific method sufficient to detect pseudoscience in its many guises: paranormal phenomena, free-energy devices, alternative medicine, intelligent design creationism, and many others. Students will learn to think critically and to question outlandish claims, hype, and outright BS. Students’ writing will improve and they will be able to distinguish credible sources of information from nonsense; students will become intelligent consumers of information. Students should expect to do a lot of reading, writing, and, most of all, thinking.
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
12:02 pm
Submitted by: Eric Remy
This is one of the assignments from Eric Remy’s course, “But is it Crazy Enough?” Students must review the materials (downloadable below) provided that describe the wonders of homeopathic medicine. Their job is to analyze the materials critically and find the (myriad) flaws.
FYS 141-3 Homeopathy assignment
During class, the instructor will present a paper, a poster and a talk on the wonders of homeopathic medicine. Students should take these as examples of what they will need to do for their final project. Students will then be allowed to ask as many pointed questions as possible about the assumptions, evidence, and reasoning of the paper/talk.
The paper will be available on Moodle. The job of the student is to read the paper and then develop a 1250 word (roughly) criticism of the paper. Students won’t be able to counter all of the arguments: so they may want to coordinate with other class members to pick specific sections to work on in more depth. (All work must be their own, however.) They should look at the paper with a highly critical eye, since they’ll be creating something similar as well as doing this for other student papers. The following are questions students should address in their paper.
Is the hypothesis sound?
Does the reasoning make sense?
Do the experiments account for possible complicating factors?
Do the experimental results actually support the hypothesis?
Are negative experimental results also being reported?
Is the displayed evidence actually significant, either in a statistics or impact sense?
Does the hypothesis/evidence contradict what you already know about reality?
Are the conclusions inflated beyond the evidentiary support?
Do the references say what the paper claims?
Is the referenced data the same in my paper and the references?
Do the papers include other claims?
Do the references even exist?
The paper heavily references original source documents. Students should work with the library to get copies of these and read them carefully.
Since the instructor will be promoting theory, students should ask other members of the faculty questions if they do not understand the material in the original documents. They should be able to answer basic questions about the material and give students ideas of alternate explanations if they choose to disagree with the author (i.e. instructor).
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
11:57 am
Submitted by: Kile Jones
This PowerPoint presentation emphasizes the need to counteract false stereotypes about atheists and provides reasons why atheists and liberal religious persons should work together for the common-good. It contains demographics of religion and unbelief in America and encourages religious persons to reevaluate how they understand atheism. This PowerPoint was used for an in-class presentation (in TEDTalk format) to promote inter-faith and atheist dialogue. This presentation was created by Kile Jones for Dr. Michael Shermer’s course, “Evolution, Economics & the Brain” taught at Claremont Graduate University during the spring 2012 semester.
Resource added on:
Friday, May 18, 2012 at
11:50 am
Submitted by: Shawn K. Stover
This course was taught at Davis & Elkins College during the spring 2010 semester.
Excerpt from Syllabus
This course exposes students to ongoing biological research. Published articles from scientific magazines and peer-reviewed journals will be thoroughly analyzed and discussed. As part of the course, students will be invited to watch selected episodes of Penn & Teller’s Showtime TV series “Bullshit,” which exposes and debunks pseudoscientific claims and paranormal phenomena.
Learning Goals
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
Interpret scientific data, as presented in the literature.
Determine whether authors’ conclusions are valid, based on the available data.
Suggest follow-up studies to address weaknesses in current research.
Recognize the difference between science and pseudoscience.
Resource added on:
Thursday, March 29, 2012 at
12:44 pm
Created by: Connor Lambert, Charles DeLoach, Chenelle Delgadillo, and Karli Shill
Submitted by: Michael Shermer
This is a student-made video created for Dr. Michael Shermer’s course, Skepticism 101: How to Think Like a Scientist (Without Being a Geek) at Chapman University during the fall 2011 semester. In the style of Brian Dalton’s Mr. Deity, students show the audience the types of difficulties God may experience in answering his mail.
Resource added on:
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at
4:22 pm
Submitted by: Michael Shermer
In this lecture, arguably his most controversial subject that is based on his highly-acclaimed book, “How We Believe”, Dr. Shermer addresses a very old question in religion with the newest data from science, namely: why do people believe in God?
As Dr. Shermer attempts to answer the question using the best theories and data from anthropology, psychology, sociology, and evolutionary biology, Dr. Shermer also addresses the important role of religion in society, the historical roots of religion and why it arose around 5000 years ago as a co-equal partner to governments and states, the origin of myths and the importance of myth-making in human cultures, and what belief in God means for individuals and society. In his always conciliatory and friendly approach to deep and controversial subjects, Dr. Shermer nevertheless is not afraid to face head-on, and courageously confront our most meaningful questions that we all have about God, the universe, and the meaning of life.
Whether at home or on the go, the SKEPTIC App is the easiest way to read your favorite articles. Within the app, users can purchase the current issue and back issues. Download the app today and get a 30-day free trial subscription.
