Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Graffin , Greg and Olson , Steve (2011-10-18), Anarchy Evolution, Harper Perennial, Retrieved on 2013-01-08Source Material [books.google.com]
Folksonomies: evolution science punk rebellion counter culture Memes
08 JAN 2013
Definition of a Naturalist
If people ask me about my worldview, I say that I am a naturalist. When most people hear that word, they think of someone who spends a lot of time outdoors watching birds and admiring landscapes—and I suppose that description applies to me. But I think of naturalism as a philosophy rather than a lifestyle. F a philosophical perspective, naturalists believe that the physical universe is the universe. In other words, there are no supernatural entities or forces acting on nature, because there i... 1 
notes
notesIt is a philosophical state of mind, grounded in empiricism, in addition to being one who appreciates nature.
08 JAN 2013
Evolutionary Biology and the Punk Scene
Evolutionary biology historically has focused on a particular kind of change in heritable traits. Some traits enable an organism to have more offspring than other organisms in a population. In this way, a heritable trait can become more abundant in the next generation. It's a simiple numbers game. New traits appear first in a single organism (like the debut songs on a pioneering punk album). But they can appear in increasing numbers of organisms with each :h new generation if they help organi... 1 notes
notesAn interesting comparison, that demonstrates the natural selection of memes in culture works the same as genes in biological fitness.
08 JAN 2013
Science is Monism
Monism is the default worldview of natural science. In science, an explanation has to be grounded in empirical evidence. In a slightly different take, for a statement to be considered a scientific explanation, it must be falsifiable—there has to be some kind of test that could be applied to the statement to prove it wrong. For example, the statement that the moon is made of cheese is a scientific statement because it can be falsified. Facts can be brought to bear on the claim (such as the den... 1 notes
notesScientific statements must be falsifiable.
08 JAN 2013
Science Unites
One of the great advantages of the naturalist worldview is that it serves as a basis for bringing people together under a common set of ground rules. Knowledge in science is public, not private, because it must be submitted to others for verification or falsification. A naturalist believes that the empirical truth is waiting to be discovered, and that we can all agree on the empirical truth so long as we believe in a few important criteria. Science can exist in any culture and any nation. It ... 1 notes
notesIf we all agree on an empirical worldview, then we have a common basis for understanding across nations and cultures.
08 JAN 2013
Trivia VS Knowledge
Have you ever met anyone with an encyclopedic knowledge of obscure rock bands? I knew a group of people in Los Angeles who spent their time browsing the used bins at record shops back in the days when music was recorded on vinyl (which is making a comeback these days, even though most kids have never heard anything other than compressed 128-kilobite-per-second digital recordings). Some of these people were so obsessed with obscure bands that they deserved the moniker "vinyl vermin." They coll... 1 notes
notesGraffin relates the story of "Vinyl Vermin" who collected trivia about music rather than cultivating opinions on what was good or bad. He relates this to amassing taxonomy knowledge without a theory.
08 JAN 2013
The Danger of Teleological Accounts of Evolution
It's important to remember that arguments over evolutionary mechanisms often depend on the deeply held convictions of evolutionary biologists—after all, biologists are people, too! Almost everyone is reluctant to let go of deeply held convictions. Many biologists, in particular, are still attracted to teleological accounts of evolution. Teleology is the idea that all activities tend toward the achievement of some sort of goal. "Everything as to its purpose" is the undercurrent of teleology, a... 1 notes
notesThe idea that evolution has a purpose and that natural selection works efficiently are erroneous.
08 JAN 2013
The Problem with the "Atheist"
As I've said, I've never believed in God, which technically makes me an atheist (since the prefix "a" means "not" or "without"). But I have problems with the word "atheism." It defines what someone is not rather than what someone is. It would be like calling me an a-instrumentalist for Bad Religion rather than the band's singer. Defining yourself as against something says very little about what you are for.
That's my biggest objection to the wave of atheist book^ks and Web sites that have c...
1 Not only does it define someone by what they aren't, it also suffers from an incredible vagueness that tells people nothing about what a person thinks.
09 JAN 2013
The Naturalist's Concern for Death
But just because naturalists do not believe in a life after death does not mean that they don't care what happens after they die. I am deeply concerned, for instance, about whether my family members will be happy and successful after I am gone, whether my friends will continue the traditions we have established, and whether the world will be a better place because of my actions. I hope that what I do in this life will make a long-term difference in the world, though I will never know whether ... 1 notes
notesThey are concerned about the welfare of their loved ones, and the causal effects of their life rather than rewards in an afterlife.
09 JAN 2013
Life is an Act of Endless Creativity
Life is an act of endless creativity. With all its simmering tragedy and occasional catastrophe, a human life is an amazing thing to contemplate and experience. None of us had any special plan laid out for us when we were born. By abandoning the idea that and say, "What's done is done. Now how can I make the best of the here and now?" Life is never static. Despite catastrophic tragedies, life has persisted in evolving new varieties of unimaginable forms. I find comfort in the narrative of evo... 1 notes
notesWhen we create, we are part of the story.
09 JAN 2013
Science Faith
Many religious believers mischaracterize naturalists as people without faith, but that is absurd. Eve^ryone must believe in something—it's part of human nature. I I have no problem acknowledging that 1 have beliefs, though they differ from more traditional kinds of faith. Naturalists must believe, first of all, that the work is understandable and that it knowledge of the world can be obtained through observation, experimentation, and verification. Most scientists don't think much about this p...
1 Scientists have faith that the world can be understood rationally.
08 JAN 2013
Infinite Creativity was Stored in Hydrogen Atoms
Once the matter created by the Big Bang cooled sufficiently, the universe consisted of a vast cloud of hydrogen atom consisting of a single proton surrounded by a single electron—along with a smattering of slightly heavier elements, including helium (with two protons) and lithium (with three). The universe at that time was about the most boring place imaginable. It consisted of nothing but disembodied atoms drifting through space and the radiation left over from the Big Bang. Yet the potentia...From this simple unit, everything in the Universe came about.
09 JAN 2013
Science Morals are Based on Empathy
The expression of empathy in humans requires that individuals have the proper experiences growing up. If children never witness adults behaving with respect tow)ward others, they are unlikely to learn how to do so themselves. Empathy, like most human traits. arises through a combination of our biological potential and our environmental influences. For that reason, groups of people can show wide variation in their emphatic style, and the expression of it within any single group can change sign...As opposed to dictates from a supernatural being.
