Psychologist Robert Abelson writes that the relationship we have with our beliefs shares properties of our association with physical possessions. We may hear “come to a conclusion,” “hold an idea,” “inherit” or “acquire a belief,” “attack” or “defend a point of view,” and so on.1 And, like it happens with other things that we own, […]
When We Become the Seekers jlavarnway Free Inquiry Read More »
Read More American Ethical Union The Uganda Humanist Schools Trust partners with multiple humanist school directors in Uganda who aim to educate young people with reason, compassion, and tolerance. The Ethical Society of Saint Louis has a 10+ years of connection with UHST, the schools, and their students, and they have witnessed th…
Read More American Ethical Union The Uganda Humanist Schools Trust partners with multiple humanist school directors in Uganda who aim to educate young people with reason, compassion, and tolerance. The Ethical Society of Saint Louis has a 10+ years of connection with UHST, the schools, and their students, and they have witnessed th…
Most Americans are unlikely to have a medical assistance in dying law available to them in the near future, but other options are available for those facing an unacceptable, protracted death that lacks the dignity most people seek. Few people want to discuss dying. But in my over thirty years of working in the
A Freethinker’s Guide to the Right to Die jlavarnway Free Inquiry Read More »
“The heart has reasons that reason does not know,” wrote seventeenth-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal. In the case of empathy, which indeed is an affair of the heart, can we discern those reasons? And are they as reliable as the reasons that serve other methods for acquiring knowledge, science included? This article will answer in
Heartfelt Reasons: Empathy as a Method of Rational Inquiry jlavarnway Free Inquiry Read More »
Every social movement must have a clear vision of its basic interests and goals. Sadly, much of the women’s and feminist movement seems to have lost its way recently as it has been sucked into the vortex of the intersectional bandwagon, which maintains that all supposedly oppressed and disadvantaged groups in the world must ally
Jennifer and Jason Reinoehl of Granger, Indiana, tried to bring about a modern version of the Scopes Trial. In 2023, the couple filed suit claiming that the teaching of evolution by their local public school in Mishawaka, Indiana, is the equivalent of teaching atheism. According to their federal court complaint, teaching evolution to their five
Evolution Is Still on Trial 100 Years after Scopes jlavarnway Free Inquiry Read More »
It is fair to say that this fall the attention of most of our readers has been focused on the U.S. presidential election. That election may be over (but perhaps not determined!) by the time this issue of Free Inquiry reaches you, but the issues dividing Americans will remain whatever the election’s results. One of
IN THIS ISSUE jlavarnway Free Inquiry Read More »
There comes a time in a man’s life when he must think about the inevitable. When I turned a leaf in 2023, I went online to check the list of notables who died at that age. The list includes George Washington, Leonardo da Vinci, Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, and Ava Gardner. I started thinking about
It’s My Funeral (and I’ll Laugh If I Want To) jlavarnway Free Inquiry Read More »
In 2022, I revealed in an online article for Skeptical Inquirer that I was victimized by a romance scam after the death of my longtime partner. I thought it was important to share that story so others reading about my experience would learn to recognize the tell-tale giveaways that distinguish scams from genuine attraction between
