Latest Articles
Humanism Needs an Upgrade: Is Sentientism the Philosophy That Could Save the World?
Volume 39, No. 3April / May 2019
There is a little-known philosophy, well-founded in reality, that provides a sound basis for compassionate ethics and which will eventually become our predominant way of thinking. That’s partly because adopting this philosophy will give us the best chance of addressing the world’s problems, from the climate change crisis to the impact of artificial general intelligence. …
The Long Fight for the Freedom to Blaspheme Has Lessons for Today
Volume 39, No. 3April / May 2019
Blasphemy is the act of profaning the sacred. It is a crime as ancient as civilization itself. The gods apparently have always needed the protection of law to remain free from offense. I guess that makes them the beneficiaries of the first “safe spaces.” These days, the Center for Inquiry (CFI) fights blasphemy laws primarily …
Popular Articles
Have Christians Accepted the Scientific Conclusion That God Does Not Answer Intercessory Prayer?
Volume 39, No. 1December 2018 / January 2019
In 1982, a young cardiologist at the San Francisco General Medical Center named Randolph Byrd had a brilliant insight that would motivate several important investigations of prayer during the following two decades. He realized that the standard research paradigm known as the double-blind randomized clinical trial could be used to test the efficacy of intercessory …
Why I Am Pro-Abortion, Not Just Pro-Choice
Volume 36, No. 5August / September 2016
Why be pro-abortion? Because of all the genuine, unquestioned goods it makes possible.
The Importance of Being Blasphemous
Volume 35, No. 6October / November 2015
Looking back on the Satanic Verses affair from the time of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, it is clear that Western culture has hemorrhaged away its courage.
Popular Articles
Have Christians Accepted the Scientific Conclusion That God Does Not Answer Intercessory Prayer?
Volume 39, No. 1December 2018 / January 2019
In 1982, a young cardiologist at the San Francisco General Medical Center named Randolph Byrd had a brilliant insight that would motivate several important investigations of prayer during the following two decades. He realized that the standard research paradigm known as the double-blind randomized clinical trial could be used to test the efficacy of intercessory …
Why I Am Pro-Abortion, Not Just Pro-Choice
Volume 36, No. 5August / September 2016
Why be pro-abortion? Because of all the genuine, unquestioned goods it makes possible.
Looking Back
Introduction
Volume 31, No. 3April / May 2011
In its October/November 2007 issue, Free Inquiry published a special section titled “Dealing with Dying.” Nineteen articles, most of them personal accounts by FI subscribers, explored various aspects of death and dying from the viewpoints of loved ones, sufferers, and a few who had cheated death. Response to the feature was overwhelming; in a departure …
Hastening Death
Volume 31, No. 3April / May 2011
Almost all of us want to continue living, and we will endure much suffering, if necessary, to stay alive. But some are confronted with circ umstances that they consider insufferable. Each day, hundreds in the United States and other Western countries hasten their own deaths, accelerating the day they otherwise would have died due to …
You’ve Got No Right
Volume 31, No. 3April / May 2011
Like most secular people, I used to believe that everyone has a right to choose death. As an atheist, I had no patience for the religious argument that God created your life, and only he should end it. The legal argument against suicide seemed bizarre: you cannot steal from yourself, so it shouldn’t be a …
Introduction
Volume 31, No. 3April / May 2011
In its October/November 2007 issue, Free Inquiry published a special section titled “Dealing with Dying.” Nineteen articles, most of them personal accounts by FI subscribers, explored various aspects of death and dying from the viewpoints of loved ones, sufferers, and a few who had cheated death. Response to the feature was overwhelming; in a departure …
Hastening Death
Volume 31, No. 3April / May 2011
Almost all of us want to continue living, and we will endure much suffering, if necessary, to stay alive. But some are confronted with circ umstances that they consider insufferable. Each day, hundreds in the United States and other Western countries hasten their own deaths, accelerating the day they otherwise would have died due to …