Thursday, January 12, 2012

Hmmm...

Chemical and Engineering News has an interesting review of Dawkins' childrens book The Magic of Reality. Part of what makes the review interesting is that one of the authors is seven years old.

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4 comments:

Dean Steinlage said...

Very interesting review
The comments were also better than I've come to expect (he comments).
Dean

Evan said...

Scientists (a.k.a. empiricists) are so intellectual dishonest and shallow that they don't have a theory that can take account of causes, yet use this explanation (myth) every day.

Would you really want to follow such a bankrupt philosophy and people lacking such intellectual integrity young person?

Insults can be exchanged. It doesn't help us arrive at an adequate account of our experience though.

Puppyclaws said...

I always get a kick out of people saying things like we see Dawkins does here, and the review doesn't really call out the ridiculousness of it (and actually seems to praise it: "As he points out, it is far more 'miraculous' than a creation myth to think of how it took billions of years of evolution to produce creatures who are now capable of understanding where they came from."

The idea that this somehow is an awe-inspiring, magical thing is entirely subjective. Personally I have to say no, I don't find it either more miraculous or even the least bit impressive or interesting. I am always amused by this type of what I have come to call "Saganism," for lack of any word I know of; I'd define it roughly as the idea that certain facts about science and/or the natural world are inherently, objectively beautiful.

It's the type of argument that doesn't convince anybody who doesn't already agree with you, but of course that it is the type of argument Dawkins likes best, so, no surprise.

Anonymous said...

I don't take Dawkins seriously, nor do I take those who espouse his views. There are really two reasons I don't take them seriously: 1) They almost always misunderstand metaphysics 2) They have no understanding of the very serious issues in the philosophy of science. I have a co-worker who is cut from this cloth, and I finally stopped getting into discussions with him, because he doesn't want to understand theistic arguments.