One of the blogs I read is Talking Philosophy: The Philosophers’ Magazine Blog, as I find that Julian, Jeremy, Ophelia, and company do a good job bringing complicated philosophical concepts into ordinary language.

One of the recent (not to mention the shortest) posts there recently was one Julian posted on atheism. It is amazing that there have already been over 40 replies to it, and it is one of the better examples of public discussion I have seen in a long while.

I wonder why? Is it an issue people are passionate about? One that stretches people to think in different ways? Perhaps it is because diverse kindred spirits find one another? Is it because people are being exposed to ways of thinking that they may have been challenged to do on their own? Can it stretch back to frustrated feelings from childhood? Perhaps empowerment?

Whatever the case, discussion almost always seems to be a positive. Hey, with the US refusing to speak to North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela (among others), we see the value of non-communication. Hatred, suspicion, envy, self-righteousness, ethnocentricism, and need I continue?

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