Jong Atmosfera

Last week there was this short-lived but hilarious Facebook phenomenon called the Movement To Stop Filipino Freethinkers. It was a fan page announcing that the Filipino Freethinkers, while claiming to promote reason, are actually attacking Christianity.

There are three truths which must be accepted at the beginning of any investigation into the problem of knowledge and truth: The First Fact: The fact of our existence. "I exist." The First Principle: The principle of contradiction. "A thing can not be and not-be at the same time in the same respect." The First Condition: The essential capability of the mind to know truth. "My intellect can reason and discover truth."

Why are we attracted to certain body types and scents?

Last night I watched Creation, a film about the life of Charles Darwin and how he came to write On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. What I found especially moving was his own struggle against the authority of religion and the beliefs of his religious wife. With religion he had no qualms, but the fear of breaking his wife’s heart almost stopped him from finishing his book.

I had this very interesting discussion on the article Malum Prohibitum. My opponent was stressing that I had no right to declare any crime as malum in se (wrong or evil in itself) because I could not present an objective point of reference as to what constitutes right and wrong.

The 2nd Davao Meetup was a success. I wish to thank both new and old members for making it. We had a really great time sharing our journeys and bonding with fellow freethinkers.

In law, a crime can be categorized as either malum prohibitum (“wrong because prohibited”) or malum in se (“wrong or evil in itself”). In a civilized community, murder, rape, theft, robbery, and kidnapping are generally perceived as mala in se regardless of where they were committed or even if there were no written laws punishing them. On the other hand, illegal possession of drugs or firearms and traffic and tax violations are mala prohibita – crimes in certain societies because their statutes made them crimes.

I remember a feature in Discovery Channel many years ago on the idea of downloading everything from a person’s mind – knowledge, memories, language, emotions, etc. – and uploading it to a supercomputer that controls a robot. This robot would then act and interact based on the whole personality of the borrowed mind, and it would keep on doing so even after the person is long dead...

Sex feels good and it stimulates the entire body. Muscles tighten and heart rate rises along with blood pressure, respiration and body temperature. The brain becomes flooded with dopamine, the ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter. Finally, a feeling of oneness with the universe (or at least with the partner) washes over, clearing the mind. Sex is not just a physical and physiological experience but also a psychological and even spiritual one – and maybe that’s why some people shout “Oh, my God” during orgasm.