As a first approximation, I define "belief" not as the object of believing (a dogma, a program, etc.) but as read more

As a first approximation, I define "belief" not as the object of believing (a dogma, a program, etc.) but as the subject's investment in a proposition, the act of saying it and considering it as true.

At the core of every moral code there is a picture of human nature, a map of the universe, and read more

At the core of every moral code there is a picture of human nature, a map of the universe, and a version of history. To human nature (of the sort conceived), in a universe (of the kind imagined), after a history (so understood), the rules of the code apply.

To swallow and follow, whether old doctrine or new propaganda, is a weakness still dominating the human mind.

To swallow and follow, whether old doctrine or new propaganda, is a weakness still dominating the human mind.

Don't be an agnostic--be something.

Don't be an agnostic--be something.

The Bible is literature, not dogma.

The Bible is literature, not dogma.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination.

If the grandfather of the grandfather of Jesus had known what was hidden within him, he would have stood humble read more

If the grandfather of the grandfather of Jesus had known what was hidden within him, he would have stood humble and awe-struck before his soul.

Should our moral beliefs really prove to be dependent on factual assumptions shown to be incorrect, it would be hardly read more

Should our moral beliefs really prove to be dependent on factual assumptions shown to be incorrect, it would be hardly moral to defend them by refusing to acknowledge the facts.

Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish, we readily believe.

Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish, we readily believe.