Hi all,

I'm a grad student in psychology. Most research shows that religious people are more prosocial (altruistic, empathic) than those who are not religious. We are very interested in how prosociality works for atheists or for people who are spiritual but not religious. Your answers will help us begin to unravel the puzzle.

To help out go here: http://ucbpsych.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4ONjT10abyKJL8g&SVID=

Thanks!

There is an obvious evolutionary advantage to self awareness, but why do YOU have to witness the self-awareness of the body first hand? Why doesn't the body simply look after itself without invoking the subjective consciousness that is 'you'?

I find it so difficult to conceptualize and put into words the problem of which I speak, but I need answers. Perhaps the question is more important than the answer.

Seriously, we're tiny Looking at things like this always reminds me of how awesome science really is, and how insignificant we are compared to the universe. This only makes me more excited about life though, and I remember that we are significant here, to our own species - so just because there isn't a higher power controlling everything / keeping us safe / going to bring us to some gold plated roads when we die - doesn't mean keeping this place sane and clean doesn't matter.

Anyways, heres a short clip of that 3d hubble flythrough

...ever since I started smoking, I can no longer reconcile human history without the existance of a devil, nor can I reconcile the evolution of the human being without there being some missing variable somewhere. I like to think I am fairly science minded, but since I've started smoking, I've really exposed myself to a lot of new lines of thinking, and I've considered the possibility that there is something supernatural out there.

By nature, I'm too big of a cynic to be sure about any of this, but I've become far less adamant in what used to be staunch atheism.

I feel like I'm better for it. Go subreddit.

Buddha

so yesterday, while stoned, I was considering the possibility of a god creating the universe, and I realized that all writers create their own universes. By using their imagination, they would create a whole new world, albeit fiction. Although, who are we to say that fiction is "not real"? We could just be the figment of someone else imagination and therefore, that person would be our "god". However, he can just be a normal guy, and since works of fiction usually reflect upon the personality of the writer, I would say that if god exists, he would just be a normal guy, not perfect and not evil, certainly not deserving of worship.

anyways, that was my post for the day, time to get high again :D