http://www.secondsightblog.com A shared exploration of the relationship between science and faith Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:14:03 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en So that’s that then. Stephen Hawking has assured us that the laws of physics are sufficient to explain the universe we live in – and that we have no need to posit the possibility of God. His book, The Grand Design, will be published on September 9. This is neither the time ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=377 Of course we haven’t yet studied the major natural law problem, but this Blog is never afraid to tackle the most controversial topics. I write of a flagrant breach of the natural law which is extremely common. Indeed the Pope himself is guilty of it. Why do a large number ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=374 It is over two years since I wrote in general terms about the concept of the natural law (July 4 2008) but some recent correspondence in this paper suggests that there are certain aspects which could profitably be revisited. I have in mind, simply as examples, letters from Simon Reilly ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=371 So we have renewed confirmation that every human being alive today is descended from a single mother, who lived 200,000 years ago. Hallo, cousins! The lady in question is known as mitochondrial Eve. The name comes from examining the mitochondria which are the energy factories in each human cell. Conveniently they ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=369 Some years ago, when I was receiving what seemed to me alarmingly large sums of money for addressing business conferences and the like, I used to teach rhetoric. We may first think of rhetoric as an art (which it is), but it is also a science, in the sense that ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=367 Here’s a problem – and a solution. A recent study in the August issue of the British Journal of Urology reported that almost two thirds of women reported sexual dysfunction. Six key areas were noted: lack of desire, arousal issues, lack of lubrication, lack of orgasm, lack of satisfaction and/or pain ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=363 Bless me, readers, for I have sinned. For some time now I have been aware of an important moral question – which could disturb a number of people. In fact it disturbed me, although for reasons of age it has no practical consequences. But I wanted to avoid examining the ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=359 I want to raise the topic of sex education on the Blog rather than in the CH, because I know much more about the questions than I do about the answers. First, I should confess that I only have the most anecdotal knowledge of what material is currently being used by ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=355 Imagine that you are watching a short video clip in which you are asked to count how many times a particular incident occurs. Easy enough. But now imagine that at one point someone in a gorilla suit walks across the screen and looks you straight in the eye. Would you ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=352 We have, during this year, discussed whether the Neanderthals, despite not being our direct ancestors, could plausibly have immortal souls. This time, some new discoveries are the occasion of looking at homo antecessor – an extinct species thought to have been present in Europe about a million years ago. The most ... http://www.secondsightblog.com/?p=348