SUMMER 1998 VOL. 18 No. 3 The Improbability of God BY RICHARD DAWKINS Anortion as Treason BY MARILYN FRENCH free inquiry Jeleórallny Reason an( _71amanh/ xuber r c : Living Hope, Health/ and th How to Find ¡Flow' HOW PSY L \7\? L W 1L 777c, 1\'-=w¡} HiuL RING LARDN 82> 7 252 74 7495 7 7 THE AFFIRMATIONS OF HUMANISM: A STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES free inquiry We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems. We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation. We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities. We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual under- standing. We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves. We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual ori- entation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity. We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suf- fering on other species. We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest. We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence. We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual pref- erences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity. We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences. We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion. We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences. We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos. We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking. We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others. We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfish- ness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality. We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings. For a parchment copy of this page, suitable for framing, please send $4.95 to FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, New York 14226-0664 LCETITTIMENIII ■s free inquiry RE-DISCOVERING HAPPINESS SUMMER 1998 VOL. 18, NO. 3 ISSN 0272-0701 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENTS 5 Secular Humanists vs. the 18 Frontlines Global Mediacracy 21 Letters Paul Kurtz 47 Great Minds OP-ED Achieving the Happy Life Epicurus 6 The Improbability of God Richard Dawkins 49 Applied Ethics Misleading the Patient for 10 Treason, Abortion, and a Fun and Profit Woman's Rights Lewis Vaughn Marilyn French 52 Reason & Liberty 11 How Psychic Hotlines How Religion and Big Exploit African Americans Money Censor the Media Norm R. Allen, Jr. Brandon M. Stickney 14 Making Peace in Northern 54 Science & Religion Ireland a Reality Searching for God in the Matt Cherry Machine David C. Noelle 15 A Journal Like No Other Keith Parsons 66 Humanism at Large Matt Cherry 17 Poem: Five Easy Prayers for Pagans 36 God and the Philosophers, BOOK REVIEWS Philip Appleman Part 1 62 Checks and Balances on Paul Edwards Religious Freedom by Rob Boston 41 When Clergy Commit the 63 What God Has Joined Sin of Silence by Vern L. Bullough Gerald A. Larue 64 Focusing on Humanism 45 The Notorious Notary by John A. Xanthopoulos Herb Silverman 65 Debunking Theism by H. James Birx 65 Examining Evolution by H. James Birx 65 Myth and History by Bill Cooke summer 1998 Editor-in-Chief Paul Kurtz Timothy J. Madigan f \ .'utive Editor • Lewis Vaughn M • r Andrea Szalanski Deputy Editor f Matt Cherry Senior Editors free inquiry Vern L. Bullough, Richard Dawkins, Thomas W. Flynn, Martin Gardner, James A. Haught, NEXT ISSUE Gerald A. Lame, Taslima Nasrin Associate Editor Molleen Matsumura Debunking Contributing Editors Postmodernism Robert S. Alley, Joe E. Barnhart, David Berman, Jo Ann Boydston, Paul Edwards, Albert Ellis, • Unmasking Intellectual Frauds Roy P. Fairfield, Charles Faulkner, Antony Flew, FREE INQUIRY (ISSN 0272-0701) is pub- Levi Fragell, Adolf Grünbaum, Marvin Kohl, lished quarterly by the Council for Secular • The Problem with Thelma Lavine, Ronald A. Lindsay, Tibor Humanism, a nonprofit educational corpora- Moral Relativism Machan, Michael Martin, Wendy McElroy, Delos tion, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst, NY B. McKown, Joe Nickell, Lee Nisbet, John 14228. Phone (716) 636-7571. Fax (716) 636- • The Attack on Universal Novak, Skipp Porteous, Lois Porter, Howard 1733. Copyright ©1998 by the Council for Human Rights Radest, Robert Rimmer, Michael Rockier, J. J. Secular Humanism. Periodicals postage paid C. Smart, Svetozar Stojanovie, Thomas Szasz, at Buffalo, N.Y., and at additional mailing • Why Science Isn't Obsolete Edward Tabash, Richard Taylor offices. 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Loynes, Sr. Book Reviews Editor, FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Director of Illustration Elka Kazmierczak Humanism at Large Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Editorial submis- Audio Technician Vance Vigrass sions. and more Web Page Designer David Noelle Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect Staff Kevin Dean, Linda Heller, Georgeia the views of the editors or publisher. No one Locurcio, Stephen Macoff, Ben Milleville, speaks on behalf of the Council for Secular Anthony Nigro, Ranjit Sandhu, David Schummer Humanism unless expressly stated. Executive Director Emeritus Jean Millholland Cover illustration: Stephen Wilton Visit FREE INQUIRY on the World Wide Web at HTTP://WWW.SECULARHUMANISM.ORG free inquiry 4 Secular Humanists vs. EDITORIAL the Global Mediacracy PAUL KURTZ he emergence of a global mediacracy today poses a special threat to the scientific-rationalist outlook that has had such a powerful effect on civ- ilization since the Enlightenment. This development is accelerated by two factors: First, the emergence of the information age: new tech- nologies have made it possible to leapfrog national frontiers and to Ttransmit by means of satellites and computers information worldwide. Second, free inquiry these technologies are owned and controlled by huge media conglomerates—the new global mediacracy is not based on monopolistic ownership but on oligopolis- tic control. These conglomerates produce and sell programs worldwide. They usu- ally appeal to the lowest common denominator and blot out dissenting points of view. In the process the secular humanist point of view is invariably neglected, even rejected. The concentration of wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands within the media industry has an insidious effect upon secular humanism.The global mediacracy is an integral part of the transnational corporations that now vir- tually dominate the world. AN INSIDER'S VIEW I have been closely involved in my entire professional life with the magazine and the book publishing industry and radio and television programming.