The Weekly SPI Fellows Update
by Julie Esris
Culture will never progress unless people learn to constructively deal with their hurt feelings, even if those hurt feelings involve deeply religious beliefs, argues author and SPI Fellow Taslima Nasrin. Read more of her insightful blog post about this important issue at Dhaka Tribune, especially important in light of recent death threats made against her.
Taslima Nasreen
Recently, physicist┬áand SPI Fellow┬áLawrence Krauss┬áwon the Humanist of the Year Award! Krauss wrote an excellent speech for his acceptance of the award at the American Humanist Association’s annual conference in Denver, Colorado. Now you, too, can read his acceptance speech.
Can’t make the upcoming Boston event featuring philosopher and SPI Fellow,┬áDaniel Dennett┬á(with Richard Dawkins)? Well, you can at least get a┬ádose of Dennett online: recently, he gave a presentation on information, evolution, and intelligent design, now available for you to watch on YouTube!
Daniel Dennett
Columnist Nicholas Kristof has a few questions about how the world has gotten better, not worse, over the years. So to whom does he ask these questions? Evolutionary psychologist and SPI Fellow┬áSteven Pinker, of course!┬áLearn how society has improved over the years, and don’t forget to buy a copy of Pinker’s book on this subject,┬áThe Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined.
Evolutionary biologist and SPI Fellow┬áRichard Dawkins has been touring the world for┬áover a week now. Most recently, he toured Brazil. You can read his blog posts about his adventures– including one about… getting into a fight with a creationist?– on his official website. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3