Come be my student next month! My online course for December is “Counter-Apologetics: Learning the Best Ways to Refute Arguments for God.” It includes special advice on arguing against Islam as well as both liberal and conservative Christianity, tips and tactics of in-person and online argument and debate, the most effective way to frame ten key arguments for atheism so that theists can’t get around them (without looking silly), and a whole lot else. It’s affordable and has no scheduled events, it’s all learn-at-your-own-pace and ask-all-the-questions-you-want, and you can participate as much or as little as you like.
And there is a special coupon code you can use to get a discount on tuition!
So join us! And let everyone know who you think might be interested in taking advantage of this deal.
Register at The Secular Academy.
And when prompted, enter coupon code 2277437 at registration for a discount.
Then purchase the course text, Malcolm Murray’s The Atheist’s Primer, at Google Play or Amazon.
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There are many benefits to taking this course. Here are several to consider…
You can improve your ability to inoculate fence-sitters and the misled by debunking bogus or trick claims (so you can be your own Snopes); to discredit the dishonest authorities believers rely upon (thus embarrassing or shocking them into no longer trusting the untrustworthy); to concisely take-down arguments and claims in a way that maximizes cognitive dissonance; and to get a believer to rethink how they think about their own arguments and claims.
I will also be discussing tactics and advice for engaging both formal and informal debates, based on my extensive experience with both.
The official course description:
Learn how to most effectively dismantle Christian and Islamic apologetics in the public arena from Dr. Richard Carrier, a published historian and philosopher with a decade of experience in formal and informal debate, cross-media counter-apologetics, and the history and philosophy of religion and naturalism. You will consult targeted readings, answer challenge questions, engage in moderated discussions, and you can ask all the questions you’ve ever wanted about this subject, and get answers from an experienced pro.
You’ll also benefit from Dr. Carrier’s instructive commentary on the required course text, which is the little known yet essential guide to the subject, Dr. Malcolm Murray’s The Atheist’s Primer (Broadview Press 2010). It’s back in print (though used copies are also available on Amazon, their delivery may be slow). And it’s also readily available and very affordable in ebook format through Google Play. You’ll need it as the main course text. Additional course readings will be provided for free, including special lectures on tactics of debate, the cognitive science of persuasion, the goals and aims of counter-apologetics, and how to understand and covertly deploy Bayesian counter-apologetics to confound and disturb the defenders of religion (and without even using math).
Good day,
One thing I do not discern is the reason for this course in terms of a premise. So, what is the underlying point?
There is a widespread industry called “apologetics” that attempts to dupe people into remaining in or joining themselves to a false belief system. It has extensive infrastructure, including whole universities, degree programs, publishing houses, libraries of books, websites, and active ministries worldwide, online and off.
As these “apologists” use tactics designed to deceive and trick people, a counter-industry is needed to expose their lies and tactics and fallacies so people can help inoculate and protect its victims. A great many of my fans and other atheists actively engage in this counter-program online and off, and specifically ask for help and advice in how to do this better, more effectively and efficiently, and how to spot what the specific lies or fallacies are, and what the truth is they are concealing or evading, the truth we should be disseminating and educating people on instead.
My course is the answer to their request. It provides them with training in how best and how not to counteract this program, in the knowledge and skills needed to expose its errors. Sometimes even believers want to know these things, so they can test whether in fact it is the case that they have been misled after all. So even some believers occasionally take my course. For that very reason. Every other believer actively flees any possible questioning like this, in terror of what it might reveal.
I appreciate the elucidation of the course: it sounds fascinating, actually. However, I suppose that I was not clear enough in my one-liner question. I was thinking more in terms of the overall ontology, the fundamental premise, etc.
I ask because, or so it would seem to me, based on an Atheist worldview: theism (in this case, Christianity and Islam) is a Darwninan survival mechanism so why seek to damage theist’s ability to survive?
Other fundamentally issues are why oppose and condemn “dupe people…false belief system…deceive and trick people…lies…fallacies…protect…victims…expose its errors…misled”?
Why seek and adhere to “what the truth is,” why make the imperative statement about “the truth we SHOULD BE disseminating”?
The answers to the last two question may seem self-evidence and/or commonsensical but I cannot help asking them as I am always very curious about underlying worldview foundational issues.
That’s not correct. There is no evidence theism is a “survival mechanism,” or that it aids survival in any way whatever.
The evidence supports the conclusion that theism is rather a cognitive error resulting from an unrelated selection effect (agency over-detection and susceptibility to enculturation). It is in other words a byproduct (side effect) of unrelated survival-related selection effects, which are themselves irrational.
Human culture has improved on these defective mechanisms; which simply requires the fix to be installed, which many people resist, because we did not evolve to be perfectly rational, because evolution is not intelligent. On the defects of evolved reasoning and their improvement by cultural invention see my articles on Plantinga’s Tiger.
As to why the truth matters and why we should help people escape these delusions, indeed need to for the welfare of humankind and possibly even its very survival, see my articles What’s the Harm and The Real Basis of a Moral World.
Well, the basic concept of theism a “survival mechanism,” by any other name, has been around at least since Freud who certainly argued that it aids survival—again, by any other name such as “survival-related selection effects.”
It seems that the claim that “Human culture has improved” is based on a claim to knowledge about some sort of absolute standard and/or ultimate goal but since “we did not evolve to be perfectly rational, because evolution is not intelligent” then that standard/goal must not be based on humanity nor evolution.
I suppose I am unsure how or why the belief that our cognitive functions developed via non-intelligent evolution can lead to imperatives such as your assertions about what we “should” do or even seek the “very survival” of humanity.” But I will read your articles in the meanwhile.
Freud has been proved wrong on almost every scientific hypothesis he proposed. Get up to speed. Learn current science.
Theism is thought addiction via the Holy Dopamine Ghost (Dopamine Reward System). Ancient people have been mistaking euphoria either through thoughts, or stress as paranormal contact for centuries.
Remember that Faith is a powerful tool that takes advantage of the mind.
“Genetic and behavioral factors influencing religiously motivated behavior appear related to dopamine metabolism and signaling. Inclination toward religious behavior and motivation has been associated with a polymorphism on the dopamine receptor gene DRD4 (Comings, Gonzales, Saucier, Johnson, & MacMurray, 2000;Sasaki et al., 2013). Acquired disorders of dopamine physiology also show links to religious behaviors.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478470/
“Religious and spiritual experiences activate the brain reward circuits in much the same way as love, sex, gambling, drugs and music, report researchers at theUniversity of Utah School of Medicine. The findings will be published Nov. 29 in the journalSocial Neuroscience.”
https://unews.utah.edu/this-is-your-brain-on-god/
Hyperactivity of Dopamine is related to schizophrenia/hallucinations.
“Dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline are neurotransmitters that belong to the catecholamine family. Dopamine is produced in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental regions of the brain, and dopamine alterations are related to schizophrenia (1, 2). Dopaminergic projections are divided into the nigrostriatal, mesolimbic, and mesocortical systems. Impairments in the dopamine system result from dopamine dysfunctions in the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental region, striatum, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus (3–5). The “original dopamine hypothesis” states that hyperactive dopamine transmission results in schizophrenic symptoms.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4032934/
“Dopamine
In schizophrenia (SCZ), there is evidence that very high levels of dopamine in the limbic system play a major role in emergence of hallucinations and delusions. Antipsychotic medications, which block central dopamine activity, alleviate the hallucinations of psychosis. Drugs with strong dopaminergic effect, such as L-dopa, methylphenidate, bromocriptine, pramipexole and piribedil, may induce hallucinations. D-amphetamine, a direct dopamine agonist, may also induce psychosis and hallucinations. The fact that hallucinations were also described in Parkinson’s disease before the introduction of L-dopa indicates that not only hyperdopaminergic states but also hypodopaminergic states, presumably due to progressive loss of dopamine projections to the cortex, can induce hallucinations.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996210/
Galatians 3:1-5
You have consistently confused religious feelings with belief in God. That’s the opposite of sound reasoning. God is a recent invention in the history of religion. And is still not culturally universal even to this day. Moreover, even godless religious drives are now shown to be maladaptive. It has only ever been the cognitive error of agency over-detection, per Guthrie and Dennett. No longer useful in modern cultures but in fact substantially detrimental.
First off I do not know if hitting reply would be validated. Secondly thanks for posting my comment, and the reply. I know you’re busy, but I want to appeal to your reason one more time.
“You have consistently confused religious feelings with belief in God. That’s the opposite of sound reasoning. God is a recent invention in the history of religion. And is still not culturally universal even to this day.”
Just think of your spiritual moment you had while in the Coast Guard. That was a Dopamergic release through the stress of sleep deprivation. You fashioned the experience through your worldview at the time (Daoism). If you had Christian inclinations you would most likely have attributed it to the Holy Ghost.
Not only stress like fervent prayer, but thoughts initiates release (winning a million dollars for instance). This is pushed as validation of a living God. Remember thought addictions are closely related to drug addictions.
Creativity is associated with Dopamine (making nonsense make sense).
“An increase in artistic-like production in Parkinson’s disease (PD) has been associated with compulsive and repetitive behaviours after the introduction of dopaminergic treatment (DT). Recent data suggest that it could be due to the emergence of artistic-like skills triggered by DT.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/26639447/
“Moreover, even godless religious drives are now shown to be maladaptive. It has only ever been the cognitive error of agency over-detection, per Guthrie and Dennett. No longer useful in modern cultures but in fact substantially detrimental.”
Philo here is not talking about falsely seeing a tiger in the tall grass.
ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book 2
“XXXVII …And [B]who can pour over the happy soul which proffers its own reason as the most sacred cup, the holy goblets of true joy, except the cup-bearer of God, the master of the feast, the word[/B]?”
The buzz, the high, the numbness in the head was seen as a partial journey to the world of air, a blessing from outer space. The Logos was intermediary from the perfect form to the lesser copy of matter.
Think about how the ancients did not know neurochemistry. Would it not be a disservice to not include the Holy Dopamine Ghost even as a mere footnote to the software patch?
Here’s more to think about;
There’s people that take advantage of the neural-plasticity of the brain to hallucinate interactive imaginary friends (self induced schizophrenia).
The Internet’s Newest Subculture Is All About Creating Imaginary Friends
Welcome to the wild world of tulpamancy.
“Tulpas are sentient beings imagined into existence using meditation-style exercises. Their creators, known as “tulpamancers”,…”
“Tibetan mystics have long practiced a method to create sentient beings from the power of concentrated thought. Explorer Alexandra David-Neel was the first Westerner to discover the practice. “Besides having had few opportunities of seeing [tulpas], my habitual incredulity led me to make experiments for myself,” she wrote in her 1929 book Magic and Mystery in Tibet. “My efforts were attended with some success.”’
“Ultimately, a practitioner can “impose” their tulpa on reality by creating a realistic hallucination. One guide pegged the amount of time it takes to do this at 200 to 500 hours.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en_ca/article/exmqzz/tulpamancy-internet-subculture-892
How Dopamine Enhances an Optimism Bias in Humans
“Here, we show that administration of a drug that enhances dopaminergic function (dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine; L-DOPA) increases an optimism bias. This effect is due to L-DOPA impairing the ability to update belief in response to undesirable information about the future. These findings provide the first evidence that the neuromodulator dopamine impacts on belief formation by reducing negative expectations regarding the future.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3424419/
You know the early Christian church encouraged schizophrenic like behaviours.
If I cannot convince you? Maybe Dr. Sapolsky can?
Dopamine Jackpot!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=axrywDP9Ii0&t=1s
Think about it. Do not give up the ghost on the Holy Dopamine Ghost. We are a Temple for it enter, but is the one unforgivable sin to reject it (because it’s a conduit to buy the nonsense wholesale).
I fail to grasp any useful point being made here.
Acts 2:1-4 mythologizes the Holy Dopamine Ghost as a tongue of fire sent from heaven resting on them.
Try from being stone cold sober take 2 shots of gin, or some other hard liqueur. Wait a few minutes. Notice that buzz in your head?
Now think how a similar effect would be achieved sober if someone believed they won a million dollars.
Drugs, thoughts, and even stress can cause these effects. Basically “euphoria” is the Holy Dopamine Ghost. It’s the proverbial carrot on a stick to motivate us to gather energy for specie perpetuation. Our advanced cognition, and tendency to pattern seek has found new ways to get pleasure.
It’s the expectation of reward;
A heavenly Father loves you, but you have to humble yourself to him.
Think about it.
“All drugs of abuse affect the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) pathway, which originates from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projects into the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Commonly called the reward center, the NAcc is heavily connected with pleasure, reinforcement learning, reward seeking, and impulsivity. The mesolimbic dopamine pathway connects with three other key regions to form a collection of integrated circuits commonly called the reward system: The amygdala (positive and negative emotions, emotional memory), hippocampus (processing and retrieval of long term memories), and the frontal cortex (coordinates and determines behavior). Taken together, the reward system and its connecting regions modulate, among other things, pleasure, reward, memory, attention, and motivation [43].
Naturally occurring behaviors such as eating and sex, have evolved such that they activate the reward system due to the fact that they reinforce behaviors necessary for survival [20]. The past decade has yielded multiple theories of addiction, all of which involve the reward system and related brain regions and substrates [44].
3.1.1. Three-Stage Model of Addiction Nora Volkow describes addiction as a neurobiochemically based shift from impulsive action learned through positive reinforcement to compulsive actions learned through negative reinforcement [43]. This in turn is seen as leading to an addictive cycle that progressively worsens over time. Volkow, Wang, Fowler, Tomasi and Telang [43] describe three stages of the addictive cycle; (a) binge/intoxication; (b) withdrawal/negative affect; and (c) preoccupation/anticipation.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4600144/
I still see no relevance of any of this. My original comment stands.
I recently registered for counter apologetics but have not been able to login?
Has that been resolved? If not please email the technician at ted@secularactivism.org.
I merely was just hearkening back to when it was viewed that way. In any case, what is and is not a Darwinian survival mechanism is based on evolutionary worldview philosophy. In any case, I am reading the material to which you directed me.