Atheists and the politics of productive engagement
There is room for all sorts of approaches in the so-called ‘culture wars’. Atheists that are perceived as aggressive speak to a certain audience – but they might well alienate another. But let’s not confuse polite engagement with religion as a necessary sign of weakness, as it could sometimes be a better strategy for political impact.
Sam Harris, ‘new atheism’ and alleged Islamophobia
While there is much that some commentators find legitimately disagreeable about Sam Harris – most obviously, his moral philosophy as expressed in The Moral Landscape – charges of Islamophobia against him and so-called new atheists stem more from a politically correct fear of giving offence rather than a balanced consideration of his position in this regard.
Breivik, terror and Islamophobia
The problem with Breivik is not Islamophobia, or “Christophobia”, but rather that belief systems with no warrant encourage and legitimate you to interpret them however you please. This is one possible consequence of this epistemic laxness, and moderate religious folk can’t wish this problem away.
Elevatorgate and the power of words
The origins of what has now become a bitter war between various elements in the secular community lie partly in a failure to understand context, or to apply the principle of charity. Some posts on Elevatorgate make it appear that Watson accuses all men of being rapists, and others that Dawkins is a misogynist – but neither viewpoint seems justified.
Cilla Webster takes issue
In the Sunday Times letters page today (not available online, sorry), Cilla Webster takes issue with Ben Trovato’s open letter to Errol Naidoo regarding E-Tv’s screening the Naked News. That’s fine – she can have her view, as can Naidoo, regardless of how stupid those views might be. But Webster’s letter does allow for a quick and easy demonstration of the ‘false cause’, or ‘correlation, not cause’ fallacy
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