Category Archives: Humanism

Patrick Stewart and Two Notes About Narrative

Posted on Saturday 31 October 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Noting the passing of Patrick Stewart, and how the noble passages spoken by Picard (and written by unmentioned writers) are credited to the actor; Mike Johnson supports Christian Nationalists (while Republicans rant and rave about Muslims and Sharia Law); and … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humanism, Narrative, Religion | Leave a comment

The Need for Community

Posted on Monday 20 October 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

An essay about how humans raised children in villages, throughout most of history; Another essay about how Gen Z-ers are drawn to conservative Christianity, not because it’s in any way true, but because of that same need for community; Heather … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Nature, Humanism, Morality, Politics | Comments Off on The Need for Community

Understanding Human Nature

Posted on Sunday 23 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Ultimately, everything in the daily news makes sense through an honest understanding of human nature. (It is not there are two legitimate “sides” to every issue.) Two thought pieces for today, then a bunch of shorter items. About how macaques … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Evolution, Human Progress, Humanism, Philosophy | Comments Off on Understanding Human Nature

Son of Longtermism

Posted on Monday 22 August 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Some 14 days ago, in this post, I linked and quoted from a NYT guest essay by William MacAskill about valuing the future as much as we value the present. Which struck me as a reasonable position to take, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Human Progress, Humanism, Philosophy, Science, Social Progress | Comments Off on Son of Longtermism

Yuval Noah Harari, 21 LESSONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (post #2)

Posted on Friday 4 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s my second concluding post about Harari’s third book. As usual, I find it hard to condense my notes too far, when the author has so many interesting things to say, especially in this second half. In the range of … Continue reading →

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Principles and Moral Guidelines, Update

Posted on Saturday 7 November 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

I polished my Principles page today, tightening a bit, and adding a section at the end listing my favorite alternatives to the Biblical Ten Commandments.

Posted in Humanism, Morality, Philosophy, Psychology | Comments Off on Principles and Moral Guidelines, Update

Links and Comments: Socialism, Conspiracy Theories, Religion, Rationality, Liberalism, William Barr, Republicans

Posted on Friday 20 March 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

First, a David Brooks column from back in December: I Was Once a Socialist. Then I Saw How It Worked. I was a socialist in college. I read magazines like The Nation and old issues of The New Masses. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Humanism, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Socialism, Conspiracy Theories, Religion, Rationality, Liberalism, William Barr, Republicans

Passages from Pinker

Posted on Friday 17 November 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

As a palette cleanser from my last post, here are some thoughts from my ongoing reading of Steven Pinker’s THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE, a history of the world with focus on violence, that summarizes that history through phases: … Continue reading →

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Pinker: Better Angels: Passages and Outline from the Preface

Posted on Wednesday 6 September 2017 by Mark R. Kelly

This is Steven Pinker’s big 2011 book, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, that takes a long-range view of human history to show that the human condition, over millennia and especially in recent centuries and decades, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Culture, Evolution, Human Progress, Humanism, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Pinker: Better Angels: Passages and Outline from the Preface

Links and Comments: Star Trek and Humanism; John Cleese

Posted on Wednesday 25 February 2015 by Mark R. Kelly

A couple more links noticed in recent days, before I lose or forget them; my daily routine, as we settle and unpack in our new home in Oakland, will be a while getting back to have time for more considered … Continue reading →

Posted in Humanism, Personal history, Philosophy, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Star Trek and Humanism; John Cleese