science – Red Angel Sophia's Blog

Young Earther Denies the Antecedent – Fallacy Exposed

August 30, 2020August 30, 2020 sophia_my_blog

Arguments for Young Earth Creationism tend to be riddled with fallacies – in this case, the fallacy being a formal fallacy known as Denying the Antecedent, as I explain in this video.

The symbol of the Atheist Seminary - used also on this site for posts pertaining to Atheist spirituality.

I am an Atheist, not a “non-believer”

May 2, 2019May 2, 2019 sophia_my_blog

As an Atheist, I can not embrace the term “non-believer” for myself – as doing that would validate the notion that beliefs that I do not hold count more than the beliefs that I do hold. The term “non-believer” is Read more

An image of the author (Sophia Shapira) holding a lightsaber during her 2018 visit to Disneyland.

How to oppose the death penalty without seeming soft on crime

April 12, 2019April 17, 2019 sophia_my_blog

Some people (mostly Republicans) are already trying to portray the Democrats who oppose the death penalty as being soft on crime. But if they play their cards right, perhaps these anti-death-penalty Democrats can make the pro-death-penalty politicians regret such a Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Hey YouTube .... I'm BAAAAACK!!!!

Return to YouTube

June 7, 2018 sophia_my_blog

Realizing that vlogging has always where I felt most at home, I have decided to revive my YouTube channel and this time integrate it with this blog. You can see the video here. My return video on YouTube

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An image of a lyre is featured based on modern reconstructions of an ancient instrument known as the "kinnor" - the kind of lyre that King David used. Halway framing the kinnor is a question mark. This image is for the alternative psalms that I wrote and posted on my blog (virtualstoa.org). Unlike the traditional psalms which pretty much require religious belief for you to use them -- these psalms (the Non-Theistic psalms) impose no such requirement at all for their use.

Non-Theistic Psalm no. 5

March 1, 2018May 1, 2019 sophia_my_blog

Non-Theistic Psalm no. 5: Composed 2018-02-26 in the evening. Some of us live short lives and others live long lives But only relative to the typical human life span. Even the longest lived person to ever live Lived but a Read more

Non-Theistic Psalm no. 3

February 22, 2018May 1, 2019 sophia_my_blog

Non-Theistic Psalm no. 3: Composed 2018-02-18 in the evening. Wise are those who follow reason and logic, Who are not ruled by emotions nor bound to preconceptions, Who keep their minds always open to reality Who always strive to see Read more

Non-Theistic Psalm no. 2

February 19, 2018May 1, 2019 sophia_my_blog

Non-Theistic Psalm no. 2: Composed on 2018-02-11 in the evening. How long will the foolish stay in power? How long will they continue their reckless schemes? How long will they hold the world in jeopardy Believing that God will fix Read more

Non-Theistic Psalm #1

February 15, 2018May 1, 2019 sophia_my_blog

Non-Theistic Psalm #1: Composed 2018-02-11 in the early morning hours. All the animals and all the plants Come from a common ancestor. Less than four billion years ago Lived the life from which we all sprung. Time went on. We Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An open book with writing represents a journal - specifically, a meditative journal, which is an ancient time-honored ingraining technique. Above it and to the left, a chain of Death Beads used in a very recently-devised ingraining technique. Above the book and to the right (slightly overlapping) is a blue silhouette of someone running - a symbol of exercise - as the ingraining techniques are key philosophical exercises for Stoicism. Above all that are, in big red letters, the words "EVERY DAY" highlighting the importance of making it an every-day practice to use whatever regimen of ingraining techniques are found to be appropriate for you. This image is for articles in this blog pertaining to Stoic ingraining techniques - whether they be ingraining techniques that we get from the Classical Stoics, or whether they be those developed in modern times by Modern Stoics.

Why We Shouldn’t Surrender to Emotion

February 7, 2018 sophia_my_blog

It is part of Plurationalist teaching that we should not surrender to our emotions, but master them. Here is why Plurationalism is right in teaching that. Recently, I shared with some people the following gatha that I use in my Read more

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Against a grey background, we see the red flame that represents the Logos (the spirit of reason that animates the Universe). In front of that, we see a badly-drawn representation of a human brain - on which there is a lightbulb that is lit, representing thought. Some of the rays from the lightbulb's glow gradually blend into the flame, representing how our reasoning faculty is part of the Logos. This image is for articles in this blog dealing with logic and critical thought.

Limitations and Promises of Rational Discourse on Hot-Button Issues

January 31, 2018 sophia_my_blog

While rationally discussing the hot-button issues facing our society is not a guarantee that all parties will come out in agreement – it still offers great benefits that make it a far superior alternative to heated, emotional discussion of those Read more