07.26.09
Darwinism as irrational thinking
Robert Wright’s effort to differentiate himself from the New Atheists is puzzling and, finally, unconvincing.
The fact of the matter is that Wright must himself be an atheist (as far as I know), so therefore whence this hypocritical quarrel?
The problem here is not ‘atheism’ but its association with scientism and Darwinism, and with a particularly second-rate take on the issues of religion. Wright shares those qualities with the New Atheists.
In general, it is futile to try and critique religious traditionalism on the basis of Darwinian assumptions.
Darwinism has been exposed many times, but it remains as a form of irrational thinking in scientists.
Stephen P. Smith said,
July 26, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Irrationality, in all its forms, is a significant part of humanities thinking. And the question is why? It signals that something is not right. And so seeing irrationality (in others) represents a type of error recognition. But this recognition is magical and beyond science, as best I can tell. Some scientist are among the most irrational! Having found an error then the chore remains to help the irrational to become more rational and this is a horrendous challenge. The irrational reveal themselves to be emotionally challenged when confronted with contrary insights.
It must be that we are able to see mistakes, but given the level of emotionality hiding beneath the surface, the ability to see our own mistakes is not certain. Few are emotionally mature enough to see and correct all their mistakes, and some level of irrationality (however slight) betrays our cocksureness (from the perspective of others). Growth that lets us get beyond our apparent weaknesses requires significant work, and the most irrational seem to think that enlightenment should be given to them without any effort. What is needed is a self-cultivation of what is dearest to ourselves. We are called to come face to face with the vital.
Hide from irrationality all you want. What is revealed to others will betray the hiding space. This is Hegel`s “cunning of reason.” The tension must find its way back to source, there is no escape.
Darwiniana » Ages of Reason, and the irrational said,
July 27, 2009 at 3:08 pm
[...] http://darwiniana.com/2009/07/26/darwinism-as-irrational-thinking/comment-page-1/#comment-337559: Cooment from Stephen Smith on Darwinism as irrational thinking Irrationality, in all its forms, is a significant part of humanities thinking. And the question is why? It signals that something is not right. And so seeing irrationality (in others) represents a type of error recognition. But this recognition is magical and beyond science, as best I can tell. Some scientist are among the most irrational! Having found an error then the chore remains to help the irrational to become more rational and this is a horrendous challenge. The irrational reveal themselves to be emotionally challenged when confronted with contrary insights… [...]