Thanks to Stacy Kennedy on the Stereotype threat thread I’m reading Claude Steele’s Whistling Vivaldi.
He notes that we in the US live in an individualistic society.
We don’t like to think that conditions tied to our social identities have much say in our lives, especially if we don’t want them to.
We’re supposed to rise above such things. He subscribes to that idea himself. But – [Read more…]
Changing the date on this because of renewed relevance.
A re-post of one from a year ago when I was reading God and the New Atheism by John Haught.
October 18, 2010
John Haught says, in God and the New Atheism, that gnu atheists get faith all wrong, at least from the point of view of theology, which
thinks of faith as a state of self-surrender in which one’s whole being, and not just the intellect, is experienced as being carried away into a dimension of reality that is much deeper and more real than anything that can be grasped by science and reason. [p 13]
You know…there’s a problem here. I would like to say something sober and restrained about that; I would like to give a cool, sarcasm-free account of what I think is wrong with it, for once; but I find it very hard to do that, because it seems so babyish. I can’t get past the babyish quality, because if I do, there’s nothing left. It’s babyish all the way down. And that’s typical of Haught, at least in this book. It’s just packed with baby talk. [Read more…]
Maryam Namazie, in solidarity with Charlie Hebdo (which planned an edition with Mohammad as guest editor), features Mohammad as a guest blogger.
See some other articles she has written on free expression and the Islamic inquisition:
The Islamic Inquisition
Free expression no ifs and buts
Islam must be criticised
Offensive shomfensive
Apologise for what: On the Mohammad caricatures
The Coyne-Haught video has been posted.
Watching. Watching and listening to Haught. Sigh.
We should talk about cosmic purpose; it’s good to talk about cosmic purpose. Metaphors are ok.
It’s a traditional philosophical view that a smaller thing can’t understand a greater thing.
There is evidence: the evidence that comes from being carried away by something very large, very important.
If this ultimate reality has no personality, if it’s an it, it’s smaller than we are.
Religions emphasize the importance of personal transformation.
Medieval philosopher would be skeptical that science is wired to understand deeper meaning.
I’m not convinced of anything yet. Perhaps that wasn’t the goal.
FTB got almost 5 million pageviews for October. That’s a lot. I knew you would be pleased.
PZ had a good time with a blogger fretting about the US moving from democracy to despotism on account of not sucking up to Catholic bishops quite enough. I took a look at the blog post and spotted an item or two for mopping up.
The Church is raising the alarm: Our religious liberty is under attack.
Cardinal Francis George was prophetic in 2009 when he said the White House had taken “the first step in moving our country from democracy to despotism.” That was when President Obama broke the promise he made to Catholics at Notre Dame and made the decision to strip conscience rights from Catholic health care professionals, a ruling that could force them to either perform abortions or lose their jobs. [Read more…]
So there’s this atheist comedian Kate Smurthwaite who did a BBC1 chat thing which went viral, and she got the kind of comments that women get. She posted a selection, and they’re…the kind of comments that women get. There was one about the trash-talking cunt getting her tongue ripped out, and more than one about how she needs to be gang-raped.
And she comments a little.
Interesting to see how a lot of people actually feel. I know almost no-one
would say these horrid things to my face. So in a sense it’s good that the
Internet lets women and other groups see how much some people really hate us. [Read more…]
There are more, and even worse, details at WEIT. It’s all really quite astonishing.
Well, you’re not going to see that tape—ever. After agreeing to be taped, Haught decided that he didn’t want the video released. Here’s what happened:
- Dr. Robert Rabel, head of the Gaines Center for the Humanities, which sponsored the debate, informed me on Sunday that Haught had requested that he did not want the video posted. Note that Haught had already agreed to be taped, so his appeal that it not be made public was a post facto decision. [Read more…]