Also known as "Allulae" . . . I'm not sure what goes differently here than what is on my profile so I'm posting that bio for now. I am un-bashful to the point of exhibitionism, so questions are always welcome! (Don't we all love to talk about ourselves, one way or another?)
In the late '70's, "Roots" had everyone talking and asking about ethnic background. I would answer "Jewish", because that is my heritage; but I hardly knew a thing about Judaism beyond that. Research led to a decade-long honest attempt to "be" a Jew. I finally had to admit that all the praying and god-talk didn't ring true. I was acting out a belief in things that I knew inside were imaginary. Honesty forced me to abandon my pretend religiosity, although by that time I had a Jewish wife and son.
My restless mind returned to my first intellectual love, biology. Beginning with the basics - "Microbiology of the Cell" - I have read Dawkins, Darwin, Gould, Mayer, Wilson, and many others, including Lewontin and Rose, who I consider "the loyal opposition". Most of the material is high-end popular science, with the occasional technical book thrown in for flavor. I understand the world, including myself, from a biological point of view; biology informs my philosophy of self in much the same way, I suppose, as scripture informs the world view of a theist.
The central character in Joanne Greenberg, "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" calls herself a "Newtonian" when she gives up religion. I picked up "Godless Jew" from Peter Gay, probability from quantum theory, and refer to myself as "Stochastic Newtonian Godless Jew" - an expression of what I do believe, rather than "atheist", which, although accurate, refers only to what I don't.
In the late '70's, "Roots" had everyone talking and asking about ethnic background. I would answer "Jewish", because that is my heritage; but I hardly knew a thing about Judaism beyond that. Research led to a decade-long honest attempt to "be" a Jew. I finally had to admit that all the praying and god-talk didn't ring true. I was acting out a belief in things that I knew inside were imaginary. Honesty forced me to abandon my pretend religiosity, although by that time I had a Jewish wife and son.
My restless mind returned to my first intellectual love, biology. Beginning with the basics - "Microbiology of the Cell" - I have read Dawkins, Darwin, Gould, Mayer, Wilson, and many others, including Lewontin and Rose, who I consider "the loyal opposition". Most of the material is high-end popular science, with the occasional technical book thrown in for flavor. I understand the world, including myself, from a biological point of view; biology informs my philosophy of self in much the same way, I suppose, as scripture informs the world view of a theist.
The central character in Joanne Greenberg, "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" calls herself a "Newtonian" when she gives up religion. I picked up "Godless Jew" from Peter Gay, probability from quantum theory, and refer to myself as "Stochastic Newtonian Godless Jew" - an expression of what I do believe, rather than "atheist", which, although accurate, refers only to what I don't.
Thanks for sharing such intimate details of your life Jeremy. I read every word an am thinking. Too bad it is midnight right now and I must get into bed. We really have to do that BookTalk get-together at some point.
