Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival

Zeuzzz · 5th July 2012, 09:03 PM

YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the JREF. The JREF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.

I AGREE

Beyond Belief: Science, Religion, Reason and Survival, the first of The Science Network's annual Beyond Belief symposia, held from November 5 to November 7, 2006, was described by the New York Times, as "a free-for-all on science and religion," which seemed at times like "the founding convention for a political party built on a single plank: in a world dangerously charged with ideology, science needs to take on an evangelical role, vying with religion as teller of the greatest story ever told." According to participant Melvin Konner, however, the event came to resemble a "den of vipers" debating the issue, "Should we bash religion with a crowbar or only with a baseball bat?"

The event was conceived as a response to the efforts of the Templeton Foundation to reconcile science with religion, according to its underwriter Robert Zeps, who told an interviewer, "I am not anti-Templeton in the sense of funding scientists to say mean things about religion. I simply believe that all study should be free of any particular agenda besides learning...Most take the position that the religious right are just nuts who are loud but frankly undeserving of a response...I believe that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and pretty much all of the tech age wealth is firmly on the side of science and they need to step up and say so in a way that is heard by the anti-science lobby."

Many conference participants leveled strong criticism at the activities of the Templeton Foundation, including claims that it attempted to blur the line between science and religion and that it funded "garbage research" aimed at showing a healing effect of prayer. The conference devoted its final session to "the negative effects of introducing religion into medicine." A Templeton spokesperson responded by warning against "commercialized ideological scientism," the effort to profit from promoting science as the only guide to truth.

Either watch and comment, or don't and don't. I found it very interesting.

Hercules Rockefeller · 5th July 2012, 10:21 PM

Eh sorry eh, I couldn't eh watch it eh to the eh end. The eh speaker eh is simply eh terrible eh.

Zeuzzz · 6th July 2012, 05:08 AM

Originally Posted by Hercules Rockefeller

Eh sorry eh, I couldn't eh watch it eh to the eh end. The eh speaker eh is simply eh terrible eh.

Many other speakers if you did not like that one. 38:20 is Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Neil De Grasse Tyson starts at 60:00.

And final words at 60:19 gives a summary of the entire 'beyond belief' conference from one of the physics professors; what became apparent from bringing such disparate fields of science together in such an open thought sharing way, how this differs so much from current scientific methods often void of interdisciplinary dialogue of this sort, and how the internet may be able to play a role in light of this in the future.

Careyp74 · 6th July 2012, 06:04 AM

Originally Posted by Hercules Rockefeller

Eh sorry eh, I couldn't eh watch it eh to the eh end. The eh speaker eh is simply eh terrible eh.

Richard Sloan picks up the pace quite fast. I really like the debate that goes on about medical journal publishing.

This series has a lot of great speakers. Pretty much anyone I have ever heard of speaks at one of these.

This particular one is good at explaining the reasons why psuedo-science is bad methodology.

5th July 2012, 10:21 PM	#2
Hercules Rockefeller Graduate Poster Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Ponylandistan Posts: 1,383	Eh sorry eh, I couldn't eh watch it eh to the eh end. The eh speaker eh is simply eh terrible eh.
	__________________ Quantum physics means that anything can happen at anytime and for no reason. Also, eat plenty of oatmeal, and animals never had a war! - Deepak Chopra

6th July 2012, 05:08 AM	#3
Zeuzzz Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 5,241	Originally Posted by Hercules Rockefeller Eh sorry eh, I couldn't eh watch it eh to the eh end. The eh speaker eh is simply eh terrible eh. Many other speakers if you did not like that one. 38:20 is Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Neil De Grasse Tyson starts at 60:00. And final words at 60:19 gives a summary of the entire 'beyond belief' conference from one of the physics professors; what became apparent from bringing such disparate fields of science together in such an open thought sharing way, how this differs so much from current scientific methods often void of interdisciplinary dialogue of this sort, and how the internet may be able to play a role in light of this in the future.
Zeuzzz Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 5,241	Last edited by Zeuzzz; 6th July 2012 at 05:44 AM.

6th July 2012, 06:04 AM	#4
Careyp74 Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Trevose, PA Posts: 3,407	Originally Posted by Hercules Rockefeller Eh sorry eh, I couldn't eh watch it eh to the eh end. The eh speaker eh is simply eh terrible eh. Richard Sloan picks up the pace quite fast. I really like the debate that goes on about medical journal publishing. This series has a lot of great speakers. Pretty much anyone I have ever heard of speaks at one of these. This particular one is good at explaining the reasons why psuedo-science is bad methodology.